


"I'm Here"

by OtterlyDeerlightful



Series: Crying Skeletons [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Brothers, Determination (Undertale), Gen, Grief/Mourning, Loss, Undertale Genocide Route, crying skeletons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-19
Updated: 2017-04-04
Packaged: 2018-10-07 23:32:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 26,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10372296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OtterlyDeerlightful/pseuds/OtterlyDeerlightful
Summary: Papyrus is a witness to the "Genocide Run" and is helpless to stop it. Sans does his best to endure.





	1. The End

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Black Coat](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/277545) by Ursik L. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Draft 1 -- 19.3.17

I was doing it! The intervention was working! I held my arms wide and put on my best smile. The human approached.

“I, PAPYRUS, WELCOME YOU WITH OPEN ARMS!” I cried in encouragement.

The human stared at me from where they stood.  I kept smiling as they considered whatever it was that was going through their mind. To be honest, the lull was starting to feel a little awkward. This human was not acting as I had expected one to, that was for certain. Were all humans this strange and quiet? If they saw that I could show them mercy, maybe they would stop scaring all the monsters of Snowdin so badly. I would be a hero; not only would I capture the human, but I would help them to see the error of their ways at the same time! It was perfect!

I watched as the human child took out what looked like a knife of some kind. I swallowed nervously, but held my warm and welcoming stance. I was sure that the human just had to see that I was serious about this and everything would turn out alright. I watched a brief expression of what looked like pain…? flicker across the human child’s face. The strange look passed and they clenched their knife all the more tightly. They lunged at me, slicing through the air as they leapt.

I couldn’t help but let out a cry of simultaneous shock and acute pain. The world was suddenly spinning and, though it took me a moment to think through the terrible pain that spread across my neck, I realized that I had just been decapitated. The human had decapitated me, even after my offer of friendship and guidance! I couldn’t believe it. That was…beyond rude. My chin hit the snowy ground hard, my teeth clanking together roughly. Ouch.

“W-WELL, THAT’S NOT WHAT I EXPECTED…” I heard myself say in amazement just before I watched my own body disintegrate into a fine dust while it fell. My battle body crumpled to the ground while the rest of me floated away, dissipating into the chilled air. It was hard to really register what my eye sockets were seeing; it was like one of the movies Sans always had playing on the television late at night instead of actual reality.

I turned my eyes back to the human standing over what was left of me. “BUT…ST-STILL!” I managed in spite of the agony finally piercing through my initial disbelief, “I BELIEVE IN YOU! YOU CAN DO A LITTLE BETTER! EVEN IF YOU DON’T THINK SO! I…I PROMISE…” I choked out as I desperately tried to encourage the human onto a better path.

My vision began to blur. I wanted to say more. I wanted to encourage them to find that glimmer of goodness that I knew was inside them, help them.

Instead, the world went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is easily the shortest chapter of the entire story. Plenty more to come shortly.


	2. A Funeral

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Draft 1 - 19.3.17

I blinked, still faintly aching, though it was quickly fading. My mind still swimming and fuzzy, I pushed myself up while I tried to make sense of things. I looked around. The human child was gone and a trail of small footprints lead off in toward Waterfall. I looked down at my hands, touched the chest plate of my battle body. I was still here. Had that entire encounter with the human been some kind of nightmare? No, the footprints said otherwise. Besides, Sans was the one who would fall asleep in the snow while on duty, not me! I had never fallen asleep while on the job and I wasn’t going to start that kind of behavior now. Maybe they had just hit me hard enough that my memories of the encounter had gotten a bit scrambled; I had heard of that happening to other monsters. That was the only explanation for all this nonsense.

I got to my feet and cracked my neck, partially to make sure it was still in one piece. It was still where it should be. I had to have imagined that silly decapitation, for I was quite in one piece _now_.

“WELL,” I said decidedly to myself as I placed my fists on my hip bones. “THAT PLAN DIDN’T WORK OUT VERY WELL, DID IT? ” I sighed and rubbed my skull. “HOW LONG WAS I OUT? I SUPPOSE I SHOULD GO AND MEET WITH UNDYNE BEFORE SHE STARTS TO WONDER WHERE I…”

My thoughts were interrupted by what I could only describe as a thunderclap. I had never heard _real_ thunder, of course, but after watching so many historical records with Alphys and Undyne I imagined the real thing probably sounded like what had suddenly engulfed me where I stood, just not with the same volume. If that _was_ thunder, it had to be the softest thunderclap in the history of thunderclaps.

I turned toward the trees to see what in the Underground could have caused such a strange noise, but froze in astonishment as I beheld what looked like a tunnel somehow made out of swirling lights. The instantaneous structure took up a good portion of the worn path and somehow occupied enough space that I _knew_ was usually a dense stand of trees. The impossible thing’s white and silvery lights twirled around each other as the tunnel retreated backward for what looked like an impossibly far distance.

I stared at it in awe and started to walk toward the beautiful display before I realized what I was doing. It was almost like it was drawing me in. I probably should have been terrified. Not just the tunnel, but its sudden appearance and paradoxical location as well! Instead, I felt only a calm peace. Like it was supposed to be there, or somehow always had been. At the end of the tunnel appeared a silhouette. I squinted to try and make sense of the blurred shape. As if to answer my question as to their identity, the length of the tunnel began to rapid collapse on itself like a folding fan to bring the figure closer to me. The contraction stopped just as suddenly as it began, and I could clearly see who was standing inside. I gasped in delight.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE…I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S REALLY YOU!” I cried as I hurried toward the swirling lights.

“*papyrus…?”

I spun around. My brother, Sans, was walking toward me. No, not walking…staggering. I hoped that he was feeling alright from the way he was walking, but I knew that I could cheer him up in an instant regardless.

“SANS!” I called to him excitedly. “LOOK! LOOK, IT’S—”

“*p-papyrus?” he asked again with a whimper.

“SANS?” I asked in immediate concern, the tunnel momentarily forgotten. “WHAT’S WRONG, BROTHER?”

I left the tunnel to meet him halfway when I realized he wasn’t actually looking at me, but somewhere just off to my right. I let my eyes follow his gaze. Lying in the snow was what looked like a perfect replica of my battle body. Every detail was perfect; they had even remembered my gloves! For some reason, though, something didn’t seem quite right about it. Sans approached the pile, fell to his knees, and reached out a shaking hand.

“*papyrus?” he repeated as he tried to touch my costume replica.

“SANS,” I called, hands on my hips. “I’M RIGHT HERE AND YOU KNOW IT.”

He ignored me and draped his body over the replica chest place instead.

“WHAT KIND OF A JOKE IS THIS, SANS? I DON’T GET IT. WHATEVER. LOOK, THOUGH! LOOK!” I cried, pointing at the swirling tunnel of brilliance behind me.

Sans’ shoulders started to heave while a muffled sob began to rise from him.

“S-SANS?”

I closed the distance between us and knelt down beside him. Maybe he hadn’t heard me talking to him…somehow. He was visibly upset and I didn’t understand why.

“SANS, I’M RIGHT HERE,” I said quietly and reached out a hand to touch his shoulder. “I’M RIGHT—”

I froze as I watched my hand slide right through the shoulder of my brother’s jacket. He didn’t seem to notice.

“WH-WHAT?” I heard myself ask as I pulled my hand back and stared at it.

I could hear Sans crying. I finally realized what was so wrong about the battle body replica. There was dust all over it. Swirling in the air around the boots, inside the chest plate, even spread across the bright red scarf. I pulled its twin from around my neck to make sure it was there. It was…but it wasn’t what I had thought. It wasn’t my scarf. I wasn’t wearing my battle body at all. _I_ was wearing the replica and what lay before me on the ground was real. My encounter with the human child hadn’t been some weird dream or scrambled memories. I hadn’t fallen asleep on patrol. The human really _had_ attacked me…and worse. And now Sans was crying over what they had left behind.

“*i’m sorry,” I heard him whimper into my things. “*oh god i’m sorry. i knew something wasn’t right about…but i didn’t think they would….oh god, papyrus! oh god i should have been…why’d you have to try and confront them alone?”

My chest hurt watching my brother like this. I wanted to comfort him, tell him I was okay, but every attempt went unnoticed. He couldn’t see me, he couldn’t hear me even if I shouted…he couldn’t even feel my touch.  I needed to do something. I felt so helpless. Sans was in pain and I was helpless to do anything to fix it!

“SANS,” I whined softly as he continued to weep, “I…I’M HERE…I SWEAR I’M HERE…”

Something from behind whispered to me, pulling gently, and I glanced back at the tunnel of light I had somehow forgotten all about. The entire thing looked somehow dimmer this time around, like it was struggling to keep its brilliance. Even the figure looked hazier than it had a minute ago.

“I’M SORRY,” I mumbled reluctantly. “I CAN’T GO. I CAN’T LEAVE HIM.”

The figure in the tunnel nodded and appeared to turn its back to me. The tunnel faded quickly, leaving me alone with my grieving brother in the quiet of Snowdin Forest. It was like the tunnel had never been there at all. I felt strangely hollow in the light’s absence, almost like I had lost something, though I wasn’t sure what.

 Hearing shuffling in the snow beside me, I turned my attention back to my brother. With shaking hands, Sans was quickly shoveling the snow from around my things on top of my scarf for some reason. He was muttering frantically, though I couldn’t hear every word of it. He was desperate, clawing at everything, gathering it together like his life depended on it. All I could do was watch in concern, hands on my knees as I sat beside him in the snow. Useless. I didn’t like feeling useless.

“*d-don’t worry, pap. i—i’ll take you home. i’m not g-gonna leave you out here like this,” he was sniffling. “*i’ve got you, bro. i’ve got you. i’m right here for ya, buddy. i’ve got you.”

Carefully, Sans lifted the load of snow and dust, using my scarf as a sling to carry the load. He held his cargo close and, still weeping, started trudging back toward home. I got up and followed. Even if I couldn’t do anything physically, I was going to be there for him…maybe if I tried hard enough he would be able to sense me somehow. I didn’t want to see him in so much pain. I didn’t want to see him in any pain at all.

We headed home. I tried to slip quickly behind him when Sans closed the front door, only to find that I was too slow. I looked down at myself and realized that my upper body was sticking through the door itself. That was…unsettling. Sans would probably find the situation incredibly funny…if he was able to see it, that was.  I stepped inside as I watched my brother trudge onward and up the stairs. I followed.

Instead of going to his own room, he wandered into mine. Sans sat down with his snowy bundle in the middle of the floor. He set it down carefully and watched as the already-melting snow began to seep into the carpet.

“SANS,” I said quietly, sadly. “YOU’RE GOING TO RUIN THE RUG THAT WAY. I…I CAN’T CLEAN IT UP,” I muttered as the reality of everything began to set in.

I wanted to take care of Sans; I wanted to help him. And I couldn’t. No laundry, no cooking, no cleaning, no taking him to bed when he fell asleep in strange places. No more snowball fights or game nights or talking about Mettaton’s shows. How could I show him I was still here, that I loved him? We did so much together…now what?

Sans stared at my scarf for what felt like ages. We watched the snow melt. Slowly, slowly. Once he was satisfied, Sans moved the damp scarf to a drier spot: my bed. He spread out the— _my_ —dust across the scarf’s length.

“SANS, YOU’RE—”

“*i know you probably don’t like me getting’ your bed messed up,” he said in anticipation of my complaint, “*but i just wanna get you dried off a-a bit, okay bro? Y-your bed’s the w-warmest, most comfortable place there is, right?”

I sighed, watching as tears continued to escape my brother’s eye sockets. Unsure of what else I could do, I sat down by my bed and stared over at the wet stain on the carpet. A strange sensation ran through me and I looked down to realize that Sans’ leg was dangling over the side of the bed and straight through my shoulder. I guess he really _couldn’t_ feel me. At least I could somewhat feel him, in a way. I stayed still in the hope that it might miraculously bring him some form of comfort. I was still for what felt like a very, very long time.

At some point Sans stopped crying, but I couldn’t bring myself to turn around and see what state he had graduated—or devolved—to. This was all my fault. I had really, truly thought that I could talk some sense into the human. Everyone had been so scared, so many monsters had already been feared dead. I thought that I could help. Goodness always won out in the end, didn’t it? Everyone had _some_ good in them, and I’d thought…I’d thought…I guess I’d thought wrong. That’s what I’d thought. And now Sans was alone, and a killer human was on the loose in the Underground. And it was my fault.

I was startled when I heard a sudden, snotty-sounding snort amidst the quiet of the room. It took me a moment to realize it had come from _me_ , not Sans. I wiped my cheek bone of tears. Strange that I would even have tears with the sorry state I was in now. Part of me began to worry that having anyone see the Great Papyrus in such a pathetic state would be irreversibly embarrassing…before I realized that there was no one capable of such a thing. Reputation set aside, I gave myself permission to cry outright.

“OH, SANS, I’M SORRY. I THOUGHT I COULD MAKE EVERYTHING RIGHT,” I blubbered. “I DIDN’T THINK THAT THEY WOULD…I THOUGHT I COULD TEACH THEM HOW TO DO BETTER. I…”

I had made a mess of everything. I forced myself to look back up at my brother. Unsurprisingly, he wasn’t looking at me at all…but I had hoped that he somehow would have been. He was still staring at my soaked-through scarf and…well, me. Or, what little was left of me. It made me uncomfortable to think of how the small bit of drying dust on the bed was what had once been my entire being. Or, my physical being, anyway. _I_ was clearly still here…to some extent.

“I KNOW I SHOULDN’T HAVE TRIED TO BE THE HERO, BUT SOMEONE HAD TO DO _SOMETHING_ AND I REALLY…REALLY THOUGHT…OH, GOD, SANS, I’M SORRY. I BROKE OUR PROMISE. I’M SORRY.”

Sans gave a loud sniffle and pulled my scarf closer to him. It was the first bit of movement from him in some time and I kept my weepy sockets trained on his every move. We both sniffled again, somehow simultaneously.

“*y-you always loved this ratty old scarf,” he mumbled with a quivering voice. “*ya wouldn’t ever let me get you a new one, even after you ripped it up good with undyne. heh. ‘battle scars are cool’ I think you said.” I watched as he traced the long stitching in the fabric where I had attempted to mend it. “*i-i’m sorry i didn’t come to watch ya practice more,” he continued as his voice cracked and tears started anew. “*i shoulda…i shoulda…”

We sat in relative silence again for a while, the both of us sniffling and whimpering at random intervals. I had never really asked Sans to watch me practice. I hadn’t wanted him to feel obligated. I knew he supported me and he would always ask me about it when I returned home, and that had been more than enough. I wanted to tell him that. I wanted him to know I hadn’t felt forgotten, that he always made me feel wanted and loved…but I couldn’t anymore. All I could do was listen to his lamentations.

“*anyway,” he said at long last, “*if—if there was one thing y-you loved, it was this stupid scarf.” He wiped his nasal cavity in his sleeve.

“DON’T BE GROSS, SANS,” I half-heartedly scolded.

“*i hope you don’t mind my choice, bro. i mean, i’m kinda being selfish, too, but…but i hope…oh, god, i hope…whatever,” Sans sighed, shoulders drooping.

I moved to sit on the edge of the bed across from Sans, mildly upset that I could somehow sit on the bed rather than fall through it, but couldn’t wrap my brother in a hug. I watched as Sans spread out the corners of my scarf, stretching the fabric as far as it would reach.

After a deep breath, he gently placed his hands on the mound of dust and began to spread it across the surface. I had never seen him do such a thorough, careful job with anything in his life. He stretched the fine powder to each corner, along and into every seam and repair. He rubbed over my scarf again and again, practically grounding my dust into the fabric itself. When he deemed the job finished, Sans very carefully pulled the scarf into his lap and hugged it tightly.

My chest ached and I had to wipe my cheek again and look back down at the floor.

“*what am i gonna do without you?” I heard him whisper through the tears. “*i can’t do this alone.”

I flinched.

“*i miss you, paps. i l-love you, papyrus. i’m sorry i-if i never said that enough when you…”

“YOU SAID IT ENOUGH, SANS,” I heard myself whisper back.

Feeling a slight breeze, I looked up to see Sans pulling the red cloth around his neck and shoulders. He tucked it delicately inside the collar of his old hoodie before pulling the edges up around his cheeks. He sat quietly for a moment before letting out a slow breath and closing his eye sockets.

“*i’m never letting you out of my sight again,” he mumbled as he worked. “*i know i’m being selfish, but…but i need you…with me.” He sniffled loudly.

I hadn’t realized I was clenching my jaw so tightly while he spoke. “OH, SANS,” was all I could manage for a moment. I caught myself trying to reach for him and pulled my hand back to my lap. It was better if I stared at the floor. “YOU’RE NOT BEING SELFISH,” I muttered.

It was quiet again.

When I next looked up Sans’ head was drooped with his chin nearly touching his sternum. Slender skeletal hands still wrapped up in my scarf, he had fallen asleep sitting upright. I could never understand how he could physically do things like that, but then again, Sans was always full of surprises.

I stood up and went to my closet to fetch him a blanket only to have my hands go straight through the door knob. Oh, right. I sighed. No more making sure Sans was warm, or woke up in time for his shifts, …or for dinner...or…

Glancing back at the small shape of my brother I suddenly grew very worried. I kept him in line so much, took care of so many things, especially on his bad days. How would he fare now without me? I was here and willing to help, but…I couldn’t. What was worse, he had no idea. I couldn’t even nag him into anything anymore. Would he be alright?

To keep myself occupied I gave myself a tour of my own room. The flag Undyne had given to me, my computer… I stood in front of my collection of action figures and felt strange, like I should be happy to see them all again, but instead I just felt empty inside. I loved these things. They had practically been my most prized possessions, but now none of them seemed to matter. They were just useless things now.

I tried to sleep but found that I couldn’t. Either I wasn’t tired, or the dead didn’t sleep. That was kind of funny, given how common the phrase “slept like the dead” was in some circles. Sans would probably find that incredibly funny. I wished I could tell him. It felt weird to consider myself _dead_. I was, but that didn’t make my situation any less…strange. I sighed and looked back at my brother sitting in my racecar bed, worrying about him.


	3. Knock Knock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Draft 1 -- 21.3.17

After about forever and a day I looked over at my clock. What felt like an eternity had actually been little over an hour. Sans’ regular naps were going to be sheer agony for me to endure, weren’t they? A sharp knock echoing from downstairs interrupted my stupor. I jumped, looking over at my brother. He was still asleep. There was another knock at the front door, but he still didn’t stir.

“ _I’LL_ GET IT,” I sighed and headed to answer the door in his place.

I wandered downstairs, though my usual pep was notably absent. Whoever was outside knocked again as I crossed the living room. A tired groan escaped my throat as I made an absent glance into the kitchen. That annoying white fluffy dog had somehow managed to infiltrate the house again and was taking up residence on a blanket it must have dragged from my clean laundry. Normally I would shoo the pesky furball right out the door, but right now I just didn’t have the energy.

It looked up questioningly at my approach, its eyes locking on mine. That gave me pause. The dog stared. So did I.

“C-CAN YOU SEE ME?” I asked hesitantly.

The dog blinked at me. After a brief moment it gave a large yawn and shoved its nose back into its stolen blanket. I sighed and turned back to my original quest. Stupid dog.

I only remembered my limitations when I found myself standing in front of the door. Whoever was outside knocked again and I let out a groan of frustration. I couldn’t even do something as simple as answer the damn door!

“Sans?” a soft and crackling voice with a thick accent asked, muffled by the door between us. “Papyrus? Are either of you home?”

Gathering myself, I shut my eyes and held my breath. Still unsure if I was doing things right, I attempted to dip my head through the door to see who was speaking. I cried out when I opened one eye to nothing but flames and jerked backward through the door. I shook my head, half convinced I needed to start rolling on the carpet just to be sure I wasn’t on fire.

There was another, quieter knock. “Sans?” A sigh. “I hope you’ve already evacuated,” I heard the soft voice mutter to themselves. “By Asgore I hope you’re safe.”

Calling upon my bravery as a revered sentry, I leaned through the door again. I blinked when I finally realized who was speaking. I watched Grillby, the fire monster that owned Sans’ favorite eating establishment down the street, as he took one more look over our house and turned to leave. He looked worn and anxious and he repeatedly glanced off toward the trees or behind him like he was expecting something to jump out at him as he went. He headed toward Waterfall. I pulled my head back inside.

The human must still be out there doing awful things. I had hoped that my words would have had _some_ impact upon them, but if everyone in town was still hiding or leaving and Sans’ friends were worrying so much about his whereabouts, I guess my encouragements hadn’t been nearly as effective as I originally imagined.

My head snapped back up.

The human was still out there. What if they came _back_?

I turned to stare up the stairs for a moment. In that instant a dozen or so horrible possibilities paraded through my mind. Without hesitation I ran back to my room. Sans was still there, still asleep. He hadn’t moved a muscle, and that was the problem.

“SANS! YOU NEED TO GET UP, LAZYBONES. THE HUMAN COULD COME BACK ANY MINUTE. WHAT IF THEY FIND YOUHERE? I…I CAN’T PROTECT YOU  LIKE THIS. I CAN’T HELP. SANS!”

He didn’t stir.

I hated to disturb him now that he was calm and quiet rather than crying through our pain, but I didn’t want to risk him getting hurt by the human child. What could I do? I couldn’t shake him awake, I couldn’t pick him up and carry him away. I was helpless, useless. Again. I roared in desperate frustration, stomping my boot on the floor with all my might.

“*hmm, ngh…”

I froze.

Sans didn’t wake, but he _had_ stirred. Had that been a coincidence or something more? I had to know, and it had to be the latter. I needed to make sure Sans was safe. I raced to the bed, kneeling beside my brother. I slowly became aware of the fact that I was shaking.

“SANS?”

Nothing.

“SANS!” I yelled louder.

He gave a soft snore.

“ **SANS! WAKE UP, YOU LAZYBONES, WAKE UP! YOU NEED TO FinD SOMEWHERE SAFE! THE HUMAN IS OUT THERE AND THEY MIGHT COME BACK! YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE WHILE YOU STILL CAN AND FIND SOMEWHERE SAFE! SANS! SANS, LISTEN TO ME!** ”

Another snore.

I hung my head, unsure what else to do. Sans was in danger if he stayed here. He hadn’t locked the door. The human could walk in at any moment, and there was nothing I could do.

“*huh?”

I jolted upright when Sans suddenly stirred. I watched him sleepily open his eyes and look around. The grin on my face couldn’t possibly get any wider. He was awake. Sans was awake, and that meant he could get to safety with everyone else.

“SANS, YOU HAVE TO GO. NOW. PLEASE, HURRY. YOU MIGHT STILL BE ABLE TO CATCH GRILLBY IF YOU HURRY—”

Sans swung his legs over the side of the bed and I soon found myself with my brother’s kneecap literally between my eye sockets. I groaned and stood up, already beginning to pace.

“*papyrus…?”

I stopped mid-step and stared at my brother. He looked dazed, disoriented.

“SANS?” I asked hopefully. “CAN YOU HEAR ME?”

I held my breath as my brother looked about my room. His shoulders fell as he sighed. Touching the edge of my scarf with hesitant fingers I heard him give a small whimper. He closed his eyes and nuzzled into the fabric for comfort. I leaned against my computer desk in utter disappointment. I hadn’t woken him at all.

“*i thought...that was stupid,” he muttered.

The silence was deafening. We were back to where we had been over an hour ago. No change, no hope. And all the time that human was out there doing things I didn’t want to think about. I wished I could scream at Sans to go, but what would be the use?

After what felt like another hundred years, Sans slowly got to his feet. He zipped up his hoodie nearly to his chin, but was careful to tuck my scarf in so as to not get caught in the zipper. I had never seen him take such good care of anything in his life. It made me feel glad and dispirited simultaneously. 

I watched as Sans, still looking like he was attempting to navigate a thick fog, made his way out to the hall. I followed to make sure that he didn’t stumble down the stairs, though I had no idea what I would do if he did. He stopped halfway down and stared at the front door. After a moment he shook his head and finished his journey to the first floor. I couldn’t do any more than trail behind. My brother finished his journey by standing silently in the middle of the living room.

“SANS?” I asked cautiously before I thought better of it. “A-ARE YOU ALRIGHT? YOU’RE WORRYING ME.”

He didn’t respond, but he did visibly shiver after a short delay.

“*…should go see,” I heard him mumbled under his breath before he began meandering toward the door.

“SANS?”

I followed behind him, concerned. Sans wasn’t acting right. What was he doing? Whatever he was muttering about didn’t make it sound like he was going to go somewhere safe and secure, that was for sure. I wanted to drag him by the hand to safety, but all I could do—still—was fret.

The white dog in the kitchen glanced up, then promptly rolled over and went back to sleep.

Meanwhile, my brother left the house and I stayed close on his heels.

“SANS! YOU DIDN’T EVEN BOTHER TO…CLOSE THE DOOR…”

Without a word, Sans disappeared around the rear of the house. Ugh. He was going to his workshop of all places. And, for lack of anything else, it seemed I was going as well.

“SANS, THIS ISN’T THE TIME FOR TINKERING,” I said just above a whisper as I scanned our surroundings for any sign of potential danger. “WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE IN CASE…UGH.”

He had closed the door behind him. I stood outside staring at it for a moment before smacking the heel of my hand into my forehead. How did I keep forgetting? Though it still felt strange, I walked through the closed door to see what my brother was up to.

Sans was fiddling with some kind of printer nestled inside what was, evidently, a usually-locked cabinet. The keys still dangled from the lock itself while he worked. I sat down in front of the door and pressed my back into it. Just in case that could somehow keep it closed. The printer was spitting out a short string of papers and Sans was staring at them with more clarity in his eyes than I had seen since this entire mess began. That much was good, at least, whatever it was he was looking at.

At least, I thought as much until I heard him curse under his breath and clutch my scarf with his free hand.

“WHAT IS IT?”

“*oh, god, it’s happening,” I heard him mutter to himself. “*oh, god, pap, it _is_ them. it’s gotta be.”

He was…talking to me?

“WHAT’S THEM?” I asked as I jumped back into action. “SANS, WHAT’S WRONG? …SANS?”

He dropped the papers and hustled straight through me on his way out of the workshop. He didn’t close that door either. I sighed in mild disappointment. It took only a second for me to realize that Sans had left the room in a hurry with an obvious destination in mind and I couldn’t afford to lose him. I broke into a run.

It wasn’t hard to follow Sans’ tracks in the snow, but I was distressed when I realized what direction they were heading. He was going to wrong way. Grillby had gone out toward Waterfall, not the Ruins. What was my brother doing? There was nothing this way but trees and the cavern wall. I caught up with him relatively quickly, surprised to see him actually running for once. I wasn’t sure of when the last time I had seen him hustle anywhere. He headed straight for the doors to the Ruins, ignoring my calls for him to stop or turn around.

Eventually he did stop on his own accord and, as I came up beside him, I saw what had caused him such pause. To my utter amazement, the door to the Ruins was open…just a crack, but enough to be noticeable. This must be where the human had come from. I suddenly didn’t feel very well. Was it possible for the dead to feel nauseous?

“*no…please, no.”

“HM?”

Sans grabbed the edge of the gigantic door and pulled with all his might. The door was heavy and slow to move, but I was impressed with my brother’s strength. Once he deemed the gap wide enough he squeezed himself inside. I did likewise.

“*no.”

Sans had collapsed to the stone floor. Before him was a large gathering of dust with a few small footprints etched across it. I felt my spine stiffen as I realized what it was my brother and I were looking at. I forced myself to swallow and knelt down next to my brother.

“S-SAN—?”

“*no!” he shouted, pounding the floor with both fists. “*no! …not her, too.”

Her? Oh. Sans had spoken occasionally of a friend he would visit who lived outside of town. I had asked him about them, told him to extend an invitation to dinner, but he had always refused. She was ‘a bit of a recluse’ he had said. At times I had wondered if this mystery friend of his existed at all. I guess he hadn’t been kidding if this was what was left of the poor woman.

“OH, SANS…I-I’M SORRY,” I mumbled, knowing full well that nothing I could say would help even if he _was_ able to hear me.

“*it’s not fair,” I heard him whimper into the floor. “*you take m-my brother, you take my best friend…what the hell am i supposed to do?” he asked sharply through clenched teeth.

I moved to put a hand on his shoulder before realizing how pointless that was. I simply sat with him while he cried with renewed pain. Despite never knowing this friend of Sans, I somehow felt like her death was my fault. I still didn’t know what else I should have done to change the outcome of my encounter with the human, but…but I should have been able to stop them. And stop all of the resulting pain for the one person I cared most about. And everyone else. I should have been able to end all this.

Slowly but surely Sans edged away from the dust laid out before him and sat back against the wall of the small room, drawing his knees up to his chest. His eyes were nothing but black circles. I moved to my brother’s side. We were both silent, but obviously ruminating over all the pain today had brought to us. There was nothing else to think about.

I sighed and set my hands down on the floor by my sides. This was terrible. Everything was terrible. Sans was still crying, but I noticed that there weren’t tears anymore. He must have run out. I…didn’t even know that was a thing that could happen. I couldn’t seem to cry anymore; I was too numb and empty to cry. I wanted to _do_ something to make things better, but I couldn’t…so there I sat.

I felt something strange brush my hand and looked down. Sans’ own hand was phased through mine, like he was trying to comfort me…only it was just another awful coincidence. I sighed and partially closed my fingers. Like I was trying to hold his hand. Maybe I was. We sat like that together for some time.

“I’M SORRY ABOUT YOUR FRIEND, SANS,” I mumbled after a time. I kept my eyes on the floor instead of daring to look up at the dust a few feet away. “I’M SORRY ABOUT…ME. I WISH THERE WAS SOMETHING I COULD SAY TO MAKE ANY OF THIS…ANY BETTER.”

It was quiet again for a time.

“*you know,” Sans said quietly out of nowhere, “*i’d always wanted you two to meet. guess you sorta are now…heh. none of us are making a very good first impression, are we? conversation’s kind of _dead_ if you ask me. heh….heh…hehhh…” he whimpered.

“SANS, THAT WAS TERRIBLE,” I responded softly while I tried to ignore the tightening in my chest.

After a little while Sans finally pulled his hand away. I found myself instinctively trying to grab at his fingers to keep him there, but of course nothing came of it. I wrapped my arms around my chest plate as I watched my brother crawl back over to the dust on the floor and attempt to gather it all into a neat pile. Had Sans always been so small as he looked now? Somehow I couldn’t remember. He had never _seemed_ small before.

“*damn kid,” he muttered as he erased the couple of small footprints and pulled the fine powder toward him, “*n-not a hint of res-spect. disgusting piece of…” Sans sighed. “*look, lady…i don’t claim to know t-too much about you. ya kind of liked your privacy and all…but, but you once said…you once said you always looked forward to hearing from me and…and that it made the hermit life a bit less lonely…” He gave a deep sigh and hung his head. “*so, sorry if you don’t like my choice but…i’m doin’ my best, ok?”

Carefully, Sans picked up a handful of his friend’s dust and blew it at the large Ruins doors.  He took more and carried it over to the structure. He rubbed bit after bit of it into the various cracks and intricate designs. I felt a lump in what most monsters would call my throat as I watched Sans conduct the second funeral he had been forced to attend today.

“*th-there,” he whispered when he was finished. “*n-now you get to be _part_ of every knock-knock joke someone tells here. i hope you like that, at least.”

I got to my feet and went over to stand with my sibling. Even if he couldn’t feel me, I wanted to be there for him physically, if nothing else. This was the closest I could do right now.

Sans held a piece of my scarf in his left hand, squeezing the fabric now and then. After a while he weakly cleared his throat to speak.

“*it’s not fair….it’s not right. neither of you deserved this. not even close…out of every monster out there, neither of you…!” He stopped for a moment to compose himself. “*i know this is stupid. luckily neither of you are…in a state to talk me out of it…”

I didn’t like where this was going. “SANS….?”

“*i know i’m a no-good layabout, paps, but…someone’s gotta do something. if the human gets past the royal guard, i…let’s just hope they stop ‘em so i don’t have to do anything stupid. and lady, i know i made you a promise, but i think this kid’s made it clear they don’t need any protecting.” He gave a deep sigh, eye sockets closed. “*kind of the opposite.” He opened his eyes again. “*don’t worry about me, okay? either of you. i might be kinda worthless at my job, but that doesn’t mean i haven’t been getting’ myself ready. i just…i just wish i’d been smart enough to prevent…”

“SANS, I DON’T LIKE THE WAY YOU’RE TALKING,” I ventured nervously. “WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? … **D-DON’T TELL ME YOU’RE GOING TO FACE THEM! YOU CAN’T! SANS, YOU ONLY HAVE ONE HP, YOU CAN’T! THEY’LL KILL YOU!** ” I cried frantically, praying he could somehow hear me, change his mind.

He didn’t even glance my way.

**“** **SANS!”**

“*sorry, lady…sorry, papyrus.”

With that, he swallowed and squeezed back through the gap in the door and back into the snow.


	4. Undying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Draft 1 - 25.3.17

I hurried after Sans in a blind panic. I screamed at him, cried, pleaded. He walked through me I don’t know how many times as we trudged back through the forest, through town, and even beyond the border of Waterfall. There was nothing I could do and I eventually tired myself out trying to get through to him. Finally, I gave up and dragged my feet as I traveled alongside him.

“I WISH YOU WOULDN’T DO THIS,” I mumbled to myself after a long while. “I…I DON’T WANT YOU TO GET HURT. BY ASGORE, I HATE TO THINK HOW MUCH LV THEY’VE ACCUMULATED BY NOW…”

The both of us stopped when we realized there was some kind of commotion going on up ahead. Sans looked around, analyzing our surroundings. I noticed that his eyes fixed on what looked like a cavern opening above our heads some ways down the path, closer to where the echoes of a scuffle were originating.

“*i can make that,” I heard him mutter to himself. Sans took in a deep breath and reached up to touch my scarf. “*hold on tight, pap. we’re taking a shortcut.”

“WHAT?” I didn’t like the sound of that. “SANS?” I asked as I reached out instinctively to grab my brother’s sleeve.

The world around us quickly dissolved into nothingness, then reappeared just as quickly. I let out a shout and jumped back, spinning around to try and figure out what had just happened. For a brief instant I could have sworn that I caught a glimpse of Sans and I standing far away and far below before we—they—disappeared. I froze and stared. That had been where we were a moment ago. I could tell by the surrounding plants and walls. Cautiously, I began to take in my new surroundings. It was the cave Sans had been looking at. We had teleported.

 _This_ was the shortcut that Sans was always talking about? He could _teleport_ across the Underground? On some level, I realized I was only mildly surprised. All of a sudden so many of Sans’ past pranks made so much more sense. I had always wondered how he pulled off some of the things he did.

“SANS! THIS IS AMAZING! HOW DID YOU…SANS?”

He was busy staring off into the distance. I didn’t like the look of horrified disbelief on his face. If his skull could have gotten any whiter than it already was, it probably would have been. I followed his gaze and felt a similar expression take over my own features.

From where we were perched I could see the bridge. I could see a child scampering away…and I could see Undyne facing a human. The human looked…different somehow from when I saw them last. Their face was all wrong. Maybe it was the distance between us, but it just didn’t look right.

That wasn’t what held my attention, though. Undyne didn’t look right either. She was shaking and looked…fuzzy somehow? I gasped in absolute horror as I watched the edges of her limbs and hair begin to crumble away.

“NO. NO, NO, IT CAN’T BE! UNDYNE!” I heard myself screaming from somewhere far away.

I watched helplessly as Undyne began to…melt? Oh, god…she was falling down. I had never seen someone fall down before, but what I was seeing was unmistakable. Even so, she was struggling so much to hold on that she was actually delaying the inevitable. It was unprecedented!

“COME ON, UNDYNE,” I whispered as my hands gripped at the rock at the edge of the cave ledge. “COME ON…IF ANYONE CAN DO IT IT’S YOU. DON’T DIE. DON’T FALL DOWN. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE…”

She blurred, falling apart. I heard myself squeak in disbelieving grief. The human turned to leave. They didn’t even wait to watch their victims die anymore. How could someone be so heartless? Then, something unexpected happened.

“UNDYNE ” I cried, jumping to my feet. **“** **UNDYNE THE UNDYING! YOU CAN DO IT!”** I screamed triumphantly as I punched the air. “NYEH HEH HEH!”

“*s-seriously?!” I heard my brother utter in total disbelief.

“YES!”

Undyne’s form recondensed, warping its own shape as her dust was miraculously recollected. I could hear her shouting in determined triumph, though we were too far away to make out her exact words. She was alive! Even her armor was different. Everything about her had changed except her unrelenting determination to be the heroine of the Underground…and I couldn’t be prouder of my dear friend. She had literally achieved the impossible before our eyes. If anyone could save us from the murderous fiend down there she could.

“SANS! SANS, DID YOU SEE—SANS?” I looked around, not seeing my brother anywhere. Panic immediately snaked up my spine. Where was he? “ **SANS!** ” I screamed frantically. Looking down over the edge of the cliff I let out a sigh of relief.

Sans was below me now on one of the walkways. He must have teleported when I was busy cheering. Thankfully, he was alright. I could feel my bones relax just knowing he was safe. The only problem was…he was very far away now. I looked around, unsure how I could get back down to him before he ran off somewhere without me. I had to make sure he would be alright. It was my job as a brother! I had to look after him!

It looked like an impossible climb, but I was determined to catch up. Sans needed me, after all. This might be tough, but it wasn’t anything the Great Papyrus couldn’t handle. Who cared if it looked like it would end with me as a pancake at the bottom? …could the dead die?

No time to think about that now. I swung my legs over the side of the ledge and spun my body around while I grasped for any footholds I could find. I carefully made my way down the rock face. It was agonizingly slow going and I suddenly wished that my battle body’s chest plate wasn’t _so_ pronounced. It would probably make this a whole thing lot easier if it was a bit slimmer.

“NYEH!” I heard myself cry as one of my feet slipped off of the barely protruding rock.

I held on for dear life but couldn’t help but glance over my shoulder. Too high! I gripped close to the wall and looked up instead to try and regain some composure. Had I really only descended a few feet? Really? I frowned.

“THIS IS YOUR FAULT, SANS!” I complained. “TELL ME NEXT TIME YOU TELEPORT, YOU…YOU….GAH!!” I shouted, too nervous to even come up with a decent insult.

I tried to reposition my boot, then my opposite hand and…there was nothing to hold onto. I let out a yelp and grabbed at the wall desperately to no avail. My limbs flailed in vain for a few seconds before it registered that yes, I was falling. I suddenly wondered again: can the dead die? It seemed I was about the find out.

I fell for so long…but was probably only a few seconds. I let out a grunt when I hit something, rolled, and began to fall again. Had that hurt? I wasn’t sure. There had definitely been pressure upon impact, but it had been so quick I couldn’t actually tell. That was weird. Thanks to my mid-fall tumble, this time around I could see the ground and rivers rushing up at me as I plummeted downward. At least it was a change. Too bad it was probably just a front-seat to my demise. Despite my imminent peril, I found myself looking for Sans.

There he was, just below me! I suddenly worried he might be too close. Dear Asgore, I hoped I wouldn’t hit him. He was in a stand of weeds, crouching by something. No, someone. He pulled the crying monster kid into his arms, rubbing their thin back to try and offer some semblance of comfort.

The world shuddered suddenly. I watched Sans pick up the youngster again, rub their back. What?

“AHH!” I cried when the ground quickly rushed up at me.

I slammed into the wooden planks next to them. There was that same pressure again, but no pain. Strange. I pushed myself up and checked myself over. Nothing broken or out of place. Even my chest plate was pristine; no one would have ever guessed that it had been scrapping up against Waterfall’s rocky walls just moments ago. Next time, maybe I should just jump and save myself the time. Neither Sans nor the monster child noticed me.

“*where?” I heard Sans ask, catching my attention.

“Sh-she said the lab in H-Hotland,” the young monster whimpered.

“*okay, then that’s where we’re going, okay?” he said as he stood up, clutching the terrified child to his ribcage. “*don’t worry about it.”

The kid buried its face into my brother’s jacket collar and continued to sniffle. “D-don’t tell my parents,” he cried as he wrapped his legs around Sans’ middle.

“*nothin’ to tell, okay?” he reassured him with blackened eye sockets. “*don’t worry about it, kid. you’re safe with me.”

What were they talking about? I managed to get to my feet when Sans started out, taking a route that went far around where Undyne was fighting with the human. It would take a bit longer to get to the lab, but at least it would be safer. What was at the lab, anyway? I had missed that part of the conversation.

“Thanks, Mr. Sans,” the kid sobbed quietly.

I sighed. This poor child. I recognized them from around Snowdin. I wished that I knew their name…why had I never bothered to ask? What a shame it was for the Great Papyrus to not know every resident of Snowdin on a first-name basis. Why was it only after death I was beginning to notice all of the areas I had needed to improve upon? I guess I hadn’t been as wonderfully perfect as I thought after all. I wished there was something I could do to comfort the small monster in Sans’ arms. I knew they adored Undyne…they must be feeling terrified right now. Thank Asgore Sans was here for him. He had always shrugged it off when I brought it to light, but I always knew he was good with children.

The world stuttered.

Suddenly, Sans and the monster kid were rewalking their last few steps again, heading to the royal science lab. What on earth was that? I thought my mind might have been playing tricks on me the first time, but it had just happened again! What was going on? I didn’t like it…but I couldn’t do anything about it. I couldn’t even ask Sans if he noticed the strange jumps, too. I grumbled to myself in frustration as we traveled.

The world around me stumbled again.

What _was_ that! It was making me incredibly nervous. Whatever was happening, it was wrong, and I wanted so much to talk to Sans about it. He always seemed to have an answer for everything, especially weird things. He loved science fiction, and all this being-dead-and-seeing-the-world-constantly-hiccup certainly seemed to fit that category rather perfectly. Why was all this awfulness happening?

Sans and the monster kid finally passed where I stood…again…and kept walking. There was a soft _woosh_ that blew from somewhere behind us, though neither of them seemed to take notice. I knew that weird sound. It was like a far away, muffled thunderclap. Hesitantly, I turned around, this time knowing its source, just not the location of said source.

It was hard to miss. It was far away, but that floating tunnel of swirling silvery-white light was unmistakable. I got to see it from a new angle this time, though, and found it a bit interesting that it looked more like a cone lifting from the ground than a proper tunnel…its end just seemed to disappear into the air somehow. I wished Sans could see it, but he hadn’t been able to see the last one… _my_ tunnel. I swallowed hard.

“UNDYNE ” I heard myself whisper in dismay.

My dear friend was dead, killed by the same murderous human that had killed me. It wasn’t fair. She had fought so hard, and for all of us. She was the strongest, most determined monster in all the Underground…and she was gone. Even she hadn’t been able to stop the human child’s march of terror. What hope did we have now to stop them? I wiped a tear that was somehow rolling down my cheekbone and sniffled quietly to myself, unable to call to my brother for support, for a kind word. I was alone and Undyne was gone.

The cone-like glowing tunnel slowly folded in on itself, almost shortening itself into a pancake, before it dissolved into the background of Waterfall. It was gone again. Part of me wondered if Undyne had refused entry like I had, but I didn’t dare go back to see if she was still there. I couldn’t lose Sans again. Besides, I didn’t want to see her dust without being able to give her a proper funeral.

I looked back over my shoulder as Sans and the kid grew further away. They had no idea Undyne was dead. Then I realized…they had no idea the human would be on the move again now. They were in danger! I scrambled after them, a thousand terrifying thoughts floating through my head all over again. I desperately tried to banish those thoughts, but that was impossible when they were the only ones in my head.

“SANS! SANS, WE HAVE TO MOVE FASTER!” I pleaded. “USE YOUR TELEPORTY MAGIC! **THE HUMAN IS COMING, SANS!** W-WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE **NOW**!”


	5. The Lab

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Draft1 - 26.3.17

Sans kept plodding along at the same pace as always. He was also ignorant of my subsequent roar of frustration and grabbing at my own skull angrily. I needed to protect him, look after him! I was _right here_ , I was with him, and I couldn’t do _anything_! It was maddening. The Great Papyrus was beloved for his dependability and his ability to help those in need, and I couldn’t. Do. Anything.

“SANS,” I pleaded tearfully. “PLEASE…WHERE ARE WE GOING? I…I NEED TO KNOW YOU’RE SAFE. AND YOU’RE NOT OUT HERE. THE HUMAN IS COMING, AND…”

“*here we go, kid,” he said, speaking over my pitiful cries, “*made it to hotland safe and sound, just like i told ya…not exactly a _warm_ welcome, but, uh…we’re here and that’s what matters.”

We had arrived in Hotland without my noticing. I stared up at the giant welcome sign, dismayed to see that it wasn’t even lit. The power must have been cut, but why? Weren’t there supposed to be laser puzzles here? We needed those to stop the human. Or, at least slow them down. How effective were lasers against humans?

Without the crackle of electricity, Hotland seemed incredibly quiet. I was momentarily surprised that no one seemed to be around until I realized that I knew _exactly_ why no one was out today. I sure hoped that they were all somewhere safe. Wherever that was must be where Sans was leading me. It _had_ better be where he was leading me. Sans and I soon stared up at a large building that was oddly familiar, but for some reason I couldn’t seem to place it. Had I been here before? This must be where everyone had gone…the place certainly looked big enough to house a lot of monsters. I just hoped it was big _enough_.

“Undyne said everyone was supposed to go to the lab, but th-there’s no one here!” the reptilian child said worriedly as he looked around and pressed further into Sans’ ribcage.

“*don’t worry, kid. i’ve got this.” Sans fiddled with a small panel beside the entrance for only a second and the doors slid aside for entry.

I blinked in surprise. “HOW DID YOU….SANS?” I questioned stupidly, unsure how on earth he already knew the code to get inside.

The place was rather empty for a lab. Except the messy office desk in the middle of the room. I noticed Sans walking funny all of a sudden, like he was shielding the kid in his arms from something. Looking up I realized immediately what it was. Against the wall was an enormous computer monitor. On it was an equally enormous image of the human child itself. They were still in Waterfall from the look of it, but would be reaching Hotland shortly. We had arrived just in time, it seemed.

Although it was definitely the same human I had encountered earlier, they…did not look right. Their face was far paler than I remembered, and their smile…something was severely wrong with their smile. And their eyes. It was the same human, but they didn’t exactly _look_ human anymore. I shivered.

I didn’t have time to ponder things too much further because Sans was already inside and I had to hurry to follow him before the doors closed just behind me. My brother seemed at home here and knew exactly where to go; I mutely followed, still anxious about the human outside. He headed right to what I thought looked like a bathroom door. Well, he seemed to know exactly where he was going so far, so I just shrugged and headed in after him.

To my surprise, it wasn’t a bathroom, but some sort of elevator. Sans shifted the child in his arms so he could hit one of the buttons on the nearby panel selection. To my surprise, he hit a few others after the fact, like he was entering another code or something. How strange. We began to move downward…downward. More and more. It felt like we were going to drop forever. Just as I was beginning to wonder if we were heading straight for the center of the earth itself the elevator came to a surprisingly soft stop. Well, save for the jolt just beforehand, anyway.

Sans sighed, closing his eyes while he waited for the doors to open, which they did after an agonizingly long delay.

“*well, come on, kiddo. let’s go join the party, huh?”

The child mumbled something indistinct in response.

I stayed close behind the pair as we took a left out of the elevator. Already I could hear the murmur of a vast number of voices down the hallway. My head shot up immediately. There were monsters here! Monsters, safe and sound and hidden! With all the little codes Sans had had to enter there was no _way_ the human would be able to find them all down here! Sans was safe! We were finally safe.

Whatever hallway we were in looked incredibly run-down and, if I were to be honest, rather depressing to look at. We made another left down an even longer, narrower hallway. Despite its filthy appearance I was beginning to like this place. It felt like the beginning of a maze, and mazes were always fun! Up ahead I could see shapes moving, scurrying, hiding?

As the hallway opened up into a lobby-like area, we were suddenly surrounded by monsters, most of whom looked miserable, terrified, or both. I recognized a handful of faces as we headed through the door to the right side of the room, but most I did not. I wished I could do something to comfort them, but even if they _could_ hear me I had no idea what to say. So I stayed quiet and did my best to avoid stepping on anyone…not that they would notice when I did.

“*there ya go, kid. didn’t i tell ya i’d get you here safe and sound?”

The monster child finally allowed themselves to take a good look around. He perked up when he spotted a pair of tall reptilian monsters near the other side of the room. One wore a beautiful pink dress, the other a dangling tie and jeans. The child wiggled even as Sans set him down, and they ran straight toward the pair of forlorn-looking monsters.

“Mom! Dad! Y-yo, Mom! It’s me!”

The couple looked up immediately and a lightness quickly swept across their faces and they rushed forward to meet their child. The three of them touched foreheads and the monster kid’s parents’ whip-like tails wrapped around their offspring in a hug that radiated the love and relief they all felt.

Sans tucked his hands back into his pockets as he watched the scene play out.

“*heh. at least someone gets a happy ending,” he mumbled to himself before he turned away. “*hey, grillby.”

Sitting on the edge of what looked like a nearby cot was a very familiar flame monster. He looked up in relieved surprise when Sans called his name and he got instantly to his feet and made his way through the crowd to greet his best customer.

“Sans!” he whispered in his heavily accented crackly voice, “I was so worried…I thought you may have been dusted as well. I was so nervous when you never…Is Papyrus with you?”

Sans sunk his head down into the collar of his hoodie ever so slightly. He tried to subtly pull its zipper up a bit higher to cover the smidge of red still showing. “*yeah,” he answered, though his sockets were dark and he kept his gaze near the floor. “*yeah, he’s here…”

“SANS,” was all I could find in me to say. I let my fingertips graze through his shoulder and hoped that it would somehow be able to help with the hurt he must be feeling all over again.

Grillby was silent for a moment and I got the feeling that he was able to see straight through Sans’ attempts to hide. He set a bright hand on my brother’s shoulders and nodded. “I’m glad you’re here with us, Sans.”

“*yeah,” was all he got in reply.

“Sans!” cried a new voice from elsewhere in the room.

What on earth was my brother’s secret to popularity? For half a second I grew jealous and wished that he would share that secret with me. At least he wasn’t so alone anymore. I wouldn’t have to worry so much, I supposed. Too bad I was still alone as ever. My depressing thoughts were interrupted by a short yellow monster who I knew every well.

“ALPHYS!” I called happily upon seeing she was safe. “I’M GLAD YOU’RE—”

“*hey, alph,” Sans mumbled as the lights in his eyes dimly returned. “*thanks for…all this. i know what a hard decision it must’ve been for you.”

She stopped short, like she had just been taken off-guard by something my brother said. I didn’t understand what they were talking about. But, wait…

“SANS! YOU NEVER TOLD ME YOU KNEW ALPHYS!” I cried as I looked between the two of them. How long had they known one another?

“Y-yeah, I…” Her eyes suddenly started welling up with tears. “Oh, Sans, I…Undyne, she…”

The light left Sans’ sockets as quickly as it had reappeared. “*no…”

The scientist nodded and sniffled, using a corner of her lab coat collar to dab her eyes. “Uh…uh-huh,” was all she could utter for a few seconds. “O-oh, Sans…” She wrapped her arms around him and he gave her a comforting squeeze. “And I-I’m so sorry a-about Papyrus…”

I saw Sans stiffen. “*how’d you know?”

“I-I saw it. M-my cameras. I..I w-wish I could have d-done something. A-all I could do was…oh god, and then U-Undyne…” she whimpered before breaking down in a fit of sobs. “Oh god, Sans! I hadn’t e-even called for an evacuation y-yet a-and ev-everyone j-just started sh-showing up an-and then…and then…!”

Sans held the other monster close and let her cry. The two stood there in their grief for what felt like an eternity. I sat down nearby on one of the few patches of bare floor that I could find. I wished I could join in with all the hugging. I could use a hug right now myself. Someone stepped through my back. It felt weird but I didn’t move away. Why bother? I rested my chin on my kneecaps and sulked while my brother and friend mourned the loss of our loved ones.

After a little while I became aware of a faint beeping sound coming from somewhere nearby. Alphys broke away from her embrace and reached for the inside pocket of her lab coat. The beeping grew louder when she pulled out some kind of giant cellphone and took a look at it.

“*what is it?”

Alphys went pale, her eyes wide. She covered her mouth with her free hand. “Oh no,” I heard her whisper.

“*what?” Sans asked, more demanding than curious this time. “*alphys, what’s wrong?”

“The human,” she uttered quietly, then louder. “The h-human’s coming! Ev-everyone! Everyone, hush! Ooh…Everyone, p-please!”

Sans leaned over, taking in where everyone was seated. “*hey, grillby!” he called to where the flame man had settled down. “*can I get a flare up, please?”

“WOWIE!” I cried as I jumped to my feet.

Grillby’s head practically exploded, the flames reaching nearly to the ceiling. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared. The bartender gestured back toward Sans and Alphys for an explanation.

“Th-thank you,” Alphys said, stumbling over her words as she went. “Everyone! The human is pr-practically on top of us. E-everyone needs to stay quiet, o-okay? W-we should all be safe, b-but…” She swallowed. “J-just in…just in c-c-case…”

After a soft, fearful murmur made its way through the crowd and out into the surrounding hallways, an oppressive, thick silence fell over the lab. You could hear a pin drop in the room. The crackle of Grillby’s flames sounded like a scream. He wrapped his arm around the shoulders of a smaller flame monster sitting beside him. She hugged him and hid her pale green face in his chest.

Alphys made her way to one end of the room. She took a small plate off of the ancient-looking monitor mounted on the wall there and began fiddling with some of the wiring inside. She hooked it up to the giant phone thing in her hand and, almost instantaneously, the image of the human child flickered onto the wall’s screen.

Everyone stared at the picture. Somehow the room felt even quieter, which should have been impossible. The human still looked wrong, but I was beginning to get used to that, at least as much as one could. I recognized the room the human was in…we had just been there. I held my breath along with everyone else. We all watched as they made their way through the lab’s front room.

I felt something lurch in my chest when a second figure appeared on the screen. “NO, METTATON…RUN AWAY,” I whined as I watched their encounter play out.

“…THIS WORLD NEEDS STARS MORE THAN IT NEEDS CORPSES! TOODLES,” the robotic star sang before zipping away to safety after a short talk with the human.

A wave of relief swept through the room as we all watched the human leave the building.

“Oh, Mettaton,” Alphys whimpered under her breath.

I felt myself let out a huge sigh of relief. Thank Asgore he had been smart enough to get out of that beast’s path. I hoped that he would be able to find safety somewhere. I looked over at Sans, trying to figure out what he was thinking. His expression was hard to read, but I didn’t like it. Was he as worried about Mettaton’s safety as I was?

“SANS,” I said after a while, “I KNOW YOU’RE THINKING SOMETHING…I CAN TELL. WHAT IS IT? A-ARE YOU OKAY? BROTHER?”

As if in response to my concerns, Sans turned around abruptly and started back the way we had come.

“SANS, WHERE ARE YOU—?”

“Sans,” Grillby’s voice crackled as I spoke, “Where are you going?”

My brother stopped, but didn’t turn around. I saw his fingers crawl up to the top of his zipped-up hoodie and finger my scarf just inside. “*tell alphys good-bye for me, won’t ya?” he asked.

“Sans…don’t do anything stupid. Stay here, please.”

“*sorry, grillby, but you know me. i’m all about the stupid stuff. gotta pay off my tab somehow.”

The flame monster sighed. “What would Papyrus think?” he asked in desperation.

“YEAH!” I chimed in, trying to block Sans from the hallway. “I DON’T WANT YOU OUT THERE, SANS! I WANT YOU TO BE SAFE! I…I NEED TO MAKE SURE YOU’RE ALRIGHT! STAY HERE, PLEASE…PLEASE, SANS.”

“*he wouldn’t like it, i know,” Sans sighed. “*but i gotta go, grillbs. i don’t have much of a choice.”

He walked right through me, clearly determined to leave. My shoulders fell. I bit back the fear and disappointment and turned to follow him. I needed to stay with him. I had to; he was all I had and all that mattered.

“Then promise me you’ll try to be safe,” I heard Grillby call after him.

Sans paused only a moment. He glanced over his shoulder. “*sorry, grillby. i don’t do promises, especially not after today.”

We left.


	6. Uncomfortable Conversations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Draft 1 - 27.3.17

I wished Sans would say something. He was so quiet. All he did was hold onto the edge of my scarf as he walked along a side path. Every now and then I would scan up ahead or across the gorges for any sign of the human; one of us had to. My brother’s face was dark, borderline frightening. He didn’t look like himself at all and it was killing me to watch him self-destruct from the inside like this. First me, then his Ruins friend, now Undyne…who else had to die today?

“*i gotta do something,” I heard him finally whimper.

“SANS…?”

He sniffled as he walked. I noticed that the hand holding onto my scarf was trembling.

“SANS, ARE YOU…DO YOU WANT TO STOP? WE CAN STOP.” I started looking around for another one of those caves.

“*how am i going to do this?” he continued to whine quietly as he went.

“DO WHAT?” I demanded slowly. I had a very bad feeling now. “YOU’RE NOT SERIOUSLY THINKING…SANS, NO. I FORBID IT! THAT’S SUICIDE TO EVEN THINK OF—”

“*what am i gonna do, papyrus?” I heard him cry.

Hearing my name almost made me trip and fall.

“*i can’t do this…i can’t do it but i have to. i…god, what do i do, paps?”

My chest hurt. “I DON’T KNOW,” I answered sadly. “I…I REALLY DON’T KNOW.” I couldn’t help but give a small smile. “HEH. THAT’S RATHER FUNNY, ISN’T IT? THE GREAT PAPYRUS NOT KNOWING WHAT TO DO…I…I GUESS WE’LL FIGURE IT OUT TOGETHER.” I sighed. “…IF I CAN HELP YOU AT ALL, THAT IS.”

Sans looked around, then changed direction down a new path. All the laser puzzles Hotland was so famous for were turned off as I had feared. At least that was one small favor for _us_. I hated to imagine how difficult a time Sans would have dodging awful lasers while having to look out for that terrible human all the while.

Huh. You could see the Core from here. It was bigger than I had thought it would be.

Sans managed to open a door to one of the puzzle outposts, duck inside, and lock the door behind him. I walked through the door to follow him, then shuddered. Wowie, it still felt weird doing that. I didn’t think I would ever get used to having to do that. I missed being able to open and close doors like a normal person.

With some heaving, Sans broke off a piece of the darkened puzzle console and wedged it up against the door as a precaution. It was a smart idea and I was proud of him for it. He slumped down across from his makeshift barricade and pulled out a portion of my scarf to hold. He buried his face in its soft material and sat quietly.

I settled down next to him, unsure what else I could do. It was small in here, but quiet. It felt almost safe. Almost nice. I looked down at my brother, wishing I could speak with him. I seemed to be wishing for that a lot today. I wanted to hear him make stupid puns about whatever serious topic I was talking about. I wanted to be able to yell at him for it. And I wanted him to reply with even more terrible jokes just to watch me fume. I never thought I would miss our silly banter, but here I was.

“I’M SO SORRY FOR ALL OF THIS, SANS,” I sighed before leaning back against the wall of the outpost. “I KNOW YOU CAN’T HEAR ME, BUT…I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ANYWAY. IF I DON’T I’LL PROBABLY GO CRAZY ANYWAY. I…I MISS YOU, SANS. IT’S ONLY BEEN SINCE THIS MORNING, BUT…I MISS YOU,” I cried gently. “I’M SORRY I WAS ALWAYS SO PREOCCUPIED WITH…EVERYTHING. I SHOULD HAVE WATCHED A MOVIE WITH YOU LAST NIGHT INSTEAD OF GOING TO BED EARLY…I COULD HAVE MADE YOU A WONDERFUL PLATE OF SPAGHETTI! I….OH, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A GOOD NIGHT. BUT, INSTEAD I HAD TO HURRY TO BED SO I COULD GET UP EARLY FOR MY PATROL. IN CASE A HUMAN CAME.” I let the back of my skull rest on the wall behind me. “WELL, THEY CAME, DIDN’T THEY?”

I sat quietly for a little while, then looked over at my brother. He was slumped over, breathing deeply, with my scarf wrapped around his hands and held against his cheek as though it were a blanket. I had to smile.

“THAT’S YOUR SECOND NAP TODAY, SANS,” I pointed out with a fond smile. “LAZY BONES,” I teased.

“*ngh,” Sans mumbled, curling toward the nearby corner.

My spine went slightly rigid and I swallowed timidly. I knew it was silly to think that Sans could hear me, but I couldn’t help but find myself hoping that he could. I had to hope, had to believe there was still some way for us to communicate; otherwise I really _would_ go crazy.

“I…I DON’T KNOW IF YOU CAN HEAR ME,” I said hesitantly, “BUT IF YOU CAN…PLEASE GO BACK TO THE LAB, SANS.  I DON’T WANT YOU TO GET HURT. IF THE HUMAN COULD…IF THEY CAN DEFEAT UNDYNE, THERE’S NO WAY YOU CAN STOP THEM. WE…WE JUST HAVE TO GET THEM TO LEAVE. ONCE THEY’RE GONE, WE’LL ALL BE SAFE. I…JUST WANT YOU TO BE SAFE, SANS. YOU’RE MY WHOLE FAMILY. I LOVE YOU.”

“*love you, papyrus,” he mumbled sleepily as he clutched tightly at the scarf around his neck.

I stared with wide eyes. Had he heard me? Had he really heard me, or was that some kind of grand coincidence? I had to know. I moved to kneel beside him, leaning in close. My breath was shallow and my hands were shaking. Please don’t let this be a cruel coincidence. Please let him hear me.

“SANS…?”

He didn’t stir.

“SANS, I….I LOVE YOU. I WANT YOU SAFE. I…I WANT YOU TO KNOW I’M HERE. I’M HERE BECAUSE I LOVE YOU. I CARE ABOUT YOU. I DON’T WANT YOU HURT. I…I DON’T WANT YOU TO END UP LIKE ME OR UNDYNE, SANS! **YOU HAVE TO LIVE. I WANT YOU TO BE SAFE AND HAPPY AND I WANT YOU TO LIVE!** ”

Sans nuzzled into my scarf and continued to breathe deeply. I hung my head and sighed in defeat.

“*can’t…sorry.”

“WAIT, WHAT?” I heard myself ask in shock. Did he just…? “SANS? CAN YOU—?”

“*no,” he whimpered as a tear rolled down his cheek and soaked into the scarf below. “*i can’t without you, bro…i can’t.”

“OH COURSE YOU CAN, SANS. YOU HAVE TO…”

He nuzzled into the scarf, breathing deeply. “*nothin’ to be happy about anymore.”

If I had lips I would have been chewing them into hamburger meat. I reached out to comfort him but, as usual, my hand went straight through his shoulder. I needed to comfort him and I could do absolutely nothing! Was this going to be my entire existence? Watching my beloved brother waste away while all I could do was torment his dreams? I had wanted to speak with him, but this was not the conversation I had hoped for.

“BUT…I NEED YOU TO TRY,” I mumbled after a couple of sniffles, “YOU’RE MY BROTHER. I…I KNOW WE GET ON EACH OTHERS NERVES AND TAKE JABS AT ONE ANOTHER BUT…YOU’RE MY FAMILY. YOU’RE THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN THE WORLD TO ME, SANS. I NEED TO KNOW YOU’RE GOING TO BE ALRIGHT.

“PLEASE….DON’T CONFRONT THE HUMAN. JUST…GO HOME. GET OUT OF BED IN THE MORNING, GO TO GRILLBY’S, PLAY WITH THE CHILDREN IN TOWN, TELL EVERYONE YOUR AWFUL PUNS, WATCH METTATON’S EVENING SHOW ” I swallowed and took a breath. “I’LL BE WITH YOU FOR ALL OF IT. I SWEAR TO YOU. I’M HERE, SANS. I’LL ALWAYS BE HERE FOR YOU.”

There was silence for a few seconds before Sans started to whimper and cry again in his sleep. I wanted to wrap my arms around his somehow small body and stay like that. But all I could do was sit next to him and listen to his sadness. And I’d been the one to make him cry. Maybe finding a way to talk to him had been a bad idea. Maybe I should have just stayed a lonely mute. I wrapped my arms around my knees and hid my face there.

After a minute or so Sans’ sobs quieted. A few seconds on he lifted his head, feeling the tears still wet on his cheek. He sniffled and rubbed his hands over his eye sockets before slouching forward and holding his forehead in his left hand.

“*almost expected to see you sitting here,” he said quietly to me as he reached yet again for the comfort of my scarf. “*i-i know you wouldn’t like me doing this…but what choice do i have? What’ve i got left?”

“GRILLBY,” I answered sullenly from my corner. “EVERYONE IN TOWN…ALPHYS.” I looked away. “AND ME. YOU STILL HAVE **ME**.”

The outpost was quiet for an eternity before Sans finally got to his feet. “*i’m sorry if i’m kind of a disappointment. but, you know me…i’m kind of garbage anyway. i sure left enough of it around for you to clean up. sorry about that, by the way. i guess I got a little _too_ lazy somewhere along the way.”

He stretched and cracked his bones with a sleepy groan. I shook my head, feeling awful that he felt so negatively about himself. Sans wasn’t a disappointment, nor garbage. He never was. He was wonderful. Annoying and frustrating sometimes, sure, but he was supportive and loyal and smart and…and he was my best friend. Undyne was technically my best friend, I supposed, but Sans was special. He was in his own category…he was the best brother in the world and he has always been there for me.

“* _but_ ,” he continued as he rolled his head over his shoulders, “*if i’m gonna be trash, i might as well be a trash _can_ instead of a trash _can’t_ , huh?”

I had to smile, even if it was just a little bit. “THAT WAS BEYOND AWFUL AND YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF.”

“*well,” he said with a chilling finality in his voice, “*might as well get on with it. i’ve procrastinated enough for once.”

I stood and watched as he took down the barricade and headed back out into the Underground. There wasn’t anything I could do to stop him at this point, but I’d be damned if I was going to let him go out there alone. I took my place by my brother’s side and we headed toward New Home.

“*hold on, papyrus,” I heard him say just in the nick of time.

I reached out my hand to grab at his sleeve before he disappeared. The world dissolved around us and quickly reformed once again.

“WOWIE,” I whispered to myself in amazement, still awed by Sans’ ability.

We were on the edge of the capital. Already. It was disturbingly empty and equally quiet, but I expected no less after the horrors of the day. The city’s barren appearance was a good thing; it meant everyone was safe elsewhere.

We headed toward it. The walk was long by itself, but made longer by the heavy silence between us as we went. How could Sans possibly think he could confront the human child, much less stop them? He had to have some kind of plan in that skull of his, but for the life—death?—of me I couldn’t figure out what it could possibly be. I hoped he knew what he was doing.

I soon found myself staring up at the castle itself. I wanted to say something. I almost felt like I had to, but I couldn’t seem to muster anything. Sans walked on ahead while I stood there in silence. I had never actually been to the capital before that I could remember; I had always been quite happy to avoid the whole of Hotland if I could help it and traveling through it would have been a necessary evil to get here. I had anticipated the day when I would be standing where I was now...the day I would join the royal guard. Never in my wildest dreams had I expected my first sight of Asgore’s castle to be under the circumstances that had brought me here today. I should be in awe right now. Instead, I felt hollow and a bit sick. I tried to clear my skull with a quick shake and headed in after Sans.

Inside didn’t look like a castle at all, at least not like any castle I had ever seen in any of my books. This place looked like the coziest little cottage I had ever seen! I ran back outside, ignoring how weird it was not to have to open the front door again to do so, and looked up again. The castle itself was large, yes, but with a second glance I realized that what I thought would be an entry hallway was, in fact, more of a house attached to the rest of the royal home. Interesting. I shrugged and went back inside, shivering as I walked through the door.

“—Yes, I understand,” I heard a deep warm voice reply to something I had missed while outside.

“*with all due respect, i don’t think you do,” my brother replied with a dark look on his face as he stood in the middle of the living room with his hands shoved deeply into his hoodie pockets. “*this kid is killing literally everyone they come in contact with.”

Asgore sighed as he emerged from the kitchen with a small tray of what looked like a tea set. He set it down on a table and took a seat in a chair that looked far too small for a monster of his enormous stature. I had never been this close to the monster king, but he somehow looked and sounded incredibly familiar…I just couldn’t place him somehow.

“I’ve feared this day would come since we were sealed away,” the king admitted as he took a cup of tea from his tray and held it in his hands. His paws were so big that the cup looked like it might belong to a doll instead of his highness. “I do hate violence,” he said with a heavy, sorrowful  tone in his voice, “But if they are as terrible as you say, I may be left with no choice.” He sighed. “And today was such a beautiful day, too.”

He closed his eyes while Sans stood and watched his every move. I swallowed, unsure how I should feel about what was going on in front of me. On one level, I agreed whole-heartedly with Asgore…but at the same time, non-violence was what lead me to stand here in complete invisibility in the first place. If the human could be saved, that would be wonderful, but at the same time…I wasn’t so sure anymore that they could be saved at all. That idea alone sent an uncomfortable chill down my spine.

“*look, asgore, you are literally the last monster in the underground that can stop them. everyone knows you only need one more soul to free everyone. we can’t let this kid ruin that. you need to get those souls and confront them. it’s the only way.”

King Asgore was silent and still staring at his tea. His wide shoulders drooped.

Sans looked frustrated. “*asgore!” he snapped. "*look at me!” he demanded.

I was horrified. What was Sans thinking addressing royalty like that?

“SANS, STAND DOWN!” I yelled embarrassedly. “Y-YOU DON’T HAVE ANY RIGHT TO—”

“I know, Sans.” Asgore had looked up. Instead of looking angry he just looked very sad, and somehow much older than his appearance had lead me to believe. “As I said, I understand. That does not necessarily mean I like it…but I understand.”

“*then why aren’t you out there with six souls already?” he demanded desperately. “*everyone still out there needs you!”

There was a long, awkward silence between the two. There seemed to be a lot of conversations today with such pauses. I hated it; they made me feel even more uncomfortable than I already was. Nothing about this meeting was right. I didn’t want to be here. I wanted to run for the door and go home, but I wasn’t about to leave Sans. He needed me.

After a while Sans let out an irritated groan. “*fine. i’ll try and buy you some time to figure it out, but i hope you come to your senses sooner rather than later ” He turned around to leave. “*’cause there might not be a later anyway.”

“SANS?” I asked as he walked through my left arm and opened the front door. “WHAT JUST HAPPENED?”

I gave King Asgore one last look before following after my brother. The large goat-like monster looked sad, conflicted, and cast his gaze down to the floor. He gave another deep sigh and set his tea cup back down on the tray with its twin. I watched him begin to stand before I phased through the door and ended up back outside. Poor Asgore. I wished I could do something to help him, offer any advice that might make what sounded like a difficult choice less horrible for him. But, I was wishing for a lot of things I couldn’t do lately, wasn’t I?

“SANS, WHERE ARE WE GOING?” I asked. “PLEASE TELL ME WE’RE GOING BACK TO THE LAB NOW. YOU’VE SEEN THE KING. WE CAN GO BACK…WHERE IT’S SAFE.”

We walked along the castle wall for only a minute or two before I saw Sans look up like he was searching for something overhead. I was starting to recognize that look and I grabbed at the hood of his jacket. Moments later I found the world around me reshaping into what looked like some kind of golden hallway I had never seen before. I spun around, gawking at the beautiful architecture that surrounded us. The hall was so big and warm! It was a wonderful change to how the Underground felt today.

“WHERE ARE WE?” I asked curiously.


	7. Final Judgement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Draft 1 - 28.3.17

Sans sighed and wandered over to one of the many large pillars that lined the hall. He leaned his back against it and slumped down to the floor. His expression reminded me of the one Asgore had just a few minutes ago. I walked over and crouched next to him.

“SANS?” I asked quietly, growing more worried by the minute now. “A-ARE YOU OKAY?”

He didn’t answer, at least not right away.

“*i’m sorry, papyrus,” I heard him mumbled just above a whisper as he unzipped his hoodie and looked down at the dusty scarf permanently wrapped around his neck and shoulders. “*i’m really sorry…b-but i gotta try to make things…well, guess it’s too late to make anything _right_ but…i gotta try an’ at least stop it.”

“SANS….?” I heard myself say nervously. I was shaking. I didn’t like this kind of talk. “WH-WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO…?”

“*they killed undyne. they k-killed _you_ ,” he whimpered before tears started to fall anew down his smooth cheekbones. “*you deserve some kind of justice…best i can do, or…try to do. they’ll kill _everyone_ if no one stops ‘em. w-with that much lv…god, they’ll kill everyone on the surface too, won’t they?”

That thought had never occurred to me. I suddenly felt very cold. He was right. I didn’t want to believe he was right, but he definitely was. Someone who killed indiscriminately like that wouldn’t care if the person they came across was a monster or another human, would they? I shuddered at the thought of the beautiful surface world becoming as bleak and dusty as the Underground had.

“SO WHAT DO WE DO?” I asked my brother as I finally sat with him, our sides phased through each other.

Sans had been quiet for a little while now. We sat for a little longer before he spoke again.

“*i know you wouldn’t approve of any of this,” he started.

“WHATEVER YOU’RE ABOUT THE SAY, I GET THE FEELING YOU’RE RIGHT,” I muttered to myself.

“*’specially with me being the weakling of the family and all. i just…i know i’m the laziest monster in the underground, but even i’ve got my limits, bro. i can’t just sit on the sidelines anymore. god i wish i could sit on the sidelines…but i’ve gotta try and stop the kid. or, at least fend ‘em off for a bit while asgore figures out what the heck he’s gonna do about it…”

A flash of movement near the end of the hall caught my eye and I glanced over. I blinked in surprise and straightened up when I recognized what it was. Flowey, my little flower friend! I hadn’t seen him in some time, but he would sometimes come around and chat while I was on patrol. He had always told me he had a knack for being able to see into the future…had he seen that all of this would happen? If he had, why hadn’t he warned anyone? He didn’t look like his usual cheery self right now, though. He looked…scared, just like everyone else today. He watched Sans for a moment before looking over his leafy version of a shoulder at the dark doorway behind him. He pulled himself back down between the floor tiles and was gone. I wondered where he was going. I hoped somewhere safe.

“*…i just hope the big guy doesn’t get distracted by anything while he’s making his decision,” Sans continued to mutter, oblivious to our brief floral visitor.

A slow series of soft footsteps echoed from far down the hall. I froze, as did Sans. The footsteps continued.

“*well, guess it’s showtime,” Sans muttered before standing back up and walking out to face them.

Sans took a deep breath as the child approached. At first I didn’t recognize them. They were so different, so _changed_ from our last real encounter, even from when I saw their footage in the lab. I was no expert on humans, to be sure, but nothing about them seemed _right_ anymore. Their face was ghostly pale, though their cheeks were surprisingly rosy. Their eyes were…unsettlingly alert and their thin smile stretched farther than it seemed one should for a human. A fine layer of dust clung to their clothing. I didn’t like this.

“IT’S NOT TOO LATE, SANS. WE CAN STILL GO BACK TO THE LAB. YOU CAN TELEPORT. PLEASE?”

My brother didn’t respond. He just stared at the human. And the human stared back.

“*heya,” he said in a surprisingly strong, almost cheery voice that threw me for a moment when I heard it. “*you’ve been busy, huh? … so, i’ve got a question for ya.” Sans closed his eyes, as if he were thinking. His voice quieted as he continued. “*do you think even the worst person can change…? that everybody can be a good person, if they just try?” I felt a small pain in my chest as the human’s grip on the knife they held tightened slightly. “*heh heh heh heh…all right. well, here’s a better question.” His eyes opened, his eye sockets pitch black. “*do you wanna have a bad time? ‘cause if you take another step forward…you are REALLY not going to like what happens next.”

The human stepped forward, its smile somehow widening even more.

“*welp,” Sans sighed as he closed his eyes briefly, “*sorry, old lady. this is why I never make promises.”

The child shifted their weight, looking about ready to attack. Sans just stood there, hands in his pockets like always. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds as the energy in the hall changed around us. I shook as I watched the pair helplessly from the sidelines. This was really happening, wasn’t it? I felt myself take a step forward. I didn’t want Sans to do this, but if he was going to anyway, the least I could do was help. I had to find a way to help and protect Sans. I had to.

“*it’s a beautiful day outside,” Sans said, eyes still closed. “*birds are singing, flowers are blooming…on days like these, kids like you…” He opened his empty sockets again. “*Should be burning in hell.”

Before the human—or I—could do anything, Sans’ left eye flared to life. It radiated with an amount of bright blue and yellow magic that astounded me. It was no secret that Sans was an unusually fragile monster, but that surge of magic…I had only ever heard of Undyne mustering such a thing in battle.

My jaw hung open as I watched my brother let his blue magic wash over the human. With speed unlike I had ever seen from him, he whipped out his left hand from his pocket and flung them to the floor. The human, thinking quickly, leaped up as fast as they could to avoid the summoned bones that shot up from the floor. They dodged as Sans sent even more bones at them from all sides.

“WHAT ARE….?”

A quartet of skulls, all of them fiercely animalistic and focused on their prey, appeared at Sans’ side. They surrounded the human. They ripped their own mandibles apart and emitted a blast of pure magical energy. Their life forces spent, they pulled back and dissolved while another group of flying skulls took their places and released a second torrent of attacks at the startled human stuck between them. Again and again they struck, beating down the threat, until a final pair of enormous skulls appeared and vomited a final waterfall of magic down on their head. The human stared up at Sans and gasped in utter shock as they fell to the floor and went limp.

I was in shock for a moment myself. I could hardly believe the spectacular display my brother had put on right before my eyes! His attacks never did carry a huge punch, but the sheer _amount_ of attacks unleashed so quickly had easily counter-balanced his shortcoming. It was astounding! I don’t know why I expected anything less of him in the first place.

“SANS! THAT WAS TOTALLY AMAZING!” I screamed in delight. “ _YOU_ WERE AMAZING! THAT WAS SO COOL!”

Sans' shoulders heaved and he sniffled, wiping his nasal opening across his sleeve. He looked relieved. “*god, papyrus… i…i hope—”

The world sputtered around us again.

I blinked, looking around in confusion. Sans was walking from a pillar to the middle of the hall walkway again. The human was gone from where they had fallen. There was a glimmer of some kind of yellow light from one end of the hall and…no.

“N-NO. BUT THAT…THAT DOESN’T MAKE ANY SENSE!” I cried as the human began to approach. “THEY FELL DOWN! THEY—”

I heard Sans let out a soft grunt. “*i knew it,” I heard him hiss angrily to himself as the child made their way toward him. “*i knew it had to be.”

“HUH? SANS, WHAT ARE YOU…?”

The human stopped in front of us. Again. They looked fine; there wasn’t a scratch on them. But their expression was different.

“*heya,” Sans said. Again.

I wasn’t sure, but I thought I heard the human growl. I think that was the first thing I had heard them say since we first met. Did growling count as saying something?

“*you look frustrated about something.” Sans’ eyes went dark. “*guess i’m pretty good at my job, huh?”

Wait. Sans hadn’t said that before, had he? Things always just repeated whenever the world had done that weird shifty thing before. No, no that was new. Was Sans aware of the world stuttering, too? That had to be it! I didn’t even hear half of what Sans was saying to the human; I was too busy trying to wrap my skull around my latest revelation. Sans knew. Sans knew things had been going weirdy the entire time, hadn’t he? No one else seemed to notice. I sure hadn’t before…this morning. Had the world been doing weird things before that? Was it all the human’s fault? …it must be, I decided. Nothing changed during any of the other sputterings, but this time the human had showed up and their expression had changed. And Sans’ greeting changed. They _both_ knew. And I made three of us. We were the only ones who knew the world was going crazy, weren’t we?

I looked up when there was suddenly an onslaught of flashing light. Sans was attacking with those amazing skulls of his again. To my horror, though, I realized things weren’t going exactly as they had before. The human was dodging far more accurately than before. The element of surprise had been spent.

“*…huh,” my brother said with a shrug and a knowing smile after the last of the skulls had faded. “*always wondered why people never use their strongest attack first.”

The human glared at him. I had never seen so much hate in one look before. Or one person, for that matter. I was suddenly all the more frightened for my brother after seeing the red gleam in this child’s eyes. They wanted him dead. Their LV was far beyond anyone in the Underground. He didn’t stand a chance and there was nothing that I could do.

“RUN,” I begged quietly as I watched Sans send more bones and blue magic at the human. “PLEASE, SANS….TELEPORT AND RUN. THERE’S STILL TIME. PLEASE…”

The human jumped, dodged, and rolled to avoid my brother’s attacks as best they could. The bones were moving slower now than during his original charge into battle. He probably didn’t have the strength to keep up that kind of momentum. I couldn’t blame him for that, but I _could_ blame him for not giving up and running. He was keeping the human busy, lessening the number of attacks they could get off themselves, but I knew he couldn’t keep that up forever.

 PLEASE, SANS, YOU HAVE NOTHING TO PROVE. KING ASGORE MUST HAVE REACHED THE SOULS BY NOW. YOU DON’T HAVE TO KEEPFIGHTING. **SANS, PLEASE!** ”

The human attacked. I held my breath and froze in place helplessly. Sans dodged, the slice unable to come anywhere near him. He gave a playful shrug as the human growled in frustration. “*what?” he asked, “*you think i’m just gonna stand there and take it?”

“NYEH HEH HEH!” I cheered in absolute relief. He was safe! He was alive!

Sans sent more bones after the human, trying to keep a distance between them and wear the blood-thirsty child down. It worked for a while, but they soon attacked again. By the grace of Asgore, Sans was again able to dodge out of the way in time. While I _was_ incredibly proud of and impressed with my brother’s performance, I didn’t know how on earth this battle could end favorably for him. I had to get him out of here, but I had no idea how.

“*our reports showed a massive anomaly in the timespace continuum. Timelines jumping left and right, stopping and starting…”

Anomaly in….? What? I didn’t understand at first; I was never one for all of his science fiction talk, but at least I had enough of a skull on my shoulders to connect the dots in what he was saying. The anomalies…were those the stutters that kept happening? Was that what he had run to his workshop about so long ago? Well…it had only been hours, but it certainly _felt_ like an eternity since then. He had read something and then run to exactly where the human had come from. He _had_ known about all the sputters and stutters and jumps throughout the day!

Sans jumped back from another of the human’s attacks. “*until suddenly,” he continued, as though he was having a full conversation chopped into pieces, “*everything ends.”

With a soft grunt of effort, Sans sent another wave of attacks at the human. They jumped in time to avoid most of the shower of bones, but not enough. They pinned them to the ground and the child once again lay still. Sans was breathing a bit hard, but let himself relax after the danger had passed.

The world sputtered around me again.

Sans walked out, the human approached. I sank to my knees in disbelieving horror.

“*hmm. That expression…that’s the expression of someone who’s died twice in a row. suffice to say, you look really…unsatisfied. all right ” Sans said darkly, “*how ‘bout we make it a third?”

Sans continued with most of his usual speech, sent out another exemplary attack, and the human dodged it almost as well.

“*anyway,” Sans sighed afterward, “*as i was saying, it’s a nice day out. why not relax and take a load off?” he said with a strange smile I had never seen before.

The battle continued.

They fought, both of them relentless. I had never seen Sans so focused on anything in his life, possibly not even his science fiction papers. He threw torrent after torrent of bones and the human dodged, ducked, rolled, and jumped to avoid them all. The human would occasionally lash out when they thought they saw an opening, but Sans’ eye was trained on their every move and they could never land a hit. Sometimes Sans moved so fast I thought I might be momentarily seeing double. Was he teleporting to escape?

That was _brilliant_! My brother was a genius! My fears subsided ever so slightly, but I was far from comfortable with the current situation. Sans was smart, but he only had so much energy at his disposal. He had always been the more delicate one between the two of us. It had never seemed to bother him, and until today it hadn’t bothered me in the slightest either. He didn’t need to be tough, he was never left behind, so what did it matter…? I guess it mattered now.

I heard a strange clinking and shaking as the two tried to slaughter one another. It took me a minute to realize it was the sound of my own bones rattling with nervousness as I stood helplessly on the sidelines. How was the human able to take so much damage? I didn’t want to think how high their LV must be for them to be as hardy as they were. Sans summoned another pair of vicious skulls, sending them one after another to blast a new attack through the human.  I covered my eyes with a whimper. The Great Papyrus whimpering while his brother fought for his life. It was disgusting. Bam, bam, bam, bam…the small army of skulls did their work. Yet, the human still stood. I knew they did. I had covered my eyes, but I heard everything.

Sans sent out a follow-up attack…and the world stumbled shortly after.

“NO,” I cried quietly as I looked up from my seat to see my brother step out from his pillar again.

The human looked annoyed now. I couldn’t watch this again. How long would this go on? How long did I have to sit here, so helpless, while Sans defended the Underground all on his own? He must feel so alone, even more than me, I realized. I felt like I was in hell having to watch this fight, but it had to be so much worse to go through it again and again and again, especially if you _knew_ you were reliving it over and over like Sans did. I forced myself to look up, if only so Sans wouldn’t be so alone this time around. Or the next.

“*hmm. That expression…that’s the expression of someone who’s died thrice in a row…hey, what comes after ‘thrice,’ anyway? wanna help me find out?” he teased with a smug grin.

He _did_ know.

I stood up, puffing out my chest with pride at Sans’ resilience. He wasn’t backing down against the horrible odds. Neither would I! I took my place behind my dear brother’s shoulder and glared into the face of the corrupted-looking human child across the way.

“*ready?”

“YOU CAN DO IT, SANS,” I said firmly in the hopes that he could somehow, even subconsciously, hear me with him. “I’M HERE AND I BELIEVE IN YOU!”

His opening attack began.

“*here we go.”

They fought, I cheered. The human fell, the world stuttered around me, Sans walked out, the human approached.

“*…died quice in a row. quice? frice? Welp, won’t have to use it again anyways…”

“*…died five times in a row. convenient, huh? that’s one for each finger…”

“*…died six times in a row. that’s the number of fingers on a mutant hand…”

They kept going on and on. Sans would attack, I would cheer him on, the human would recover, Sans would duck and teleport out of the way, I would cheer some more, they would fight, the human would fall, and everything would start all over again. Sans seemed to have renewed strength with every sputter of reality, but I could swear he was still slowing. Slightly, barely noticeable from start-over to start-over, but overall he definitely seemed to be getting tired. I wonder if that was because he _knew_ he was being flung back in time again and again. I began to wonder…if _I_ was able to notice Sans was slowing down, had the human noticed, too?

My brother continued his conversation with the human. I couldn’t tell if it was because he couldn’t recall what had already been said or if it was to bother his attacker and distract them as things went on.

“*heh heh heh…that’s your fault, isn’t it?” Sans asked with darkened sockets as he went through his discussion of timespace anomalies once again, much to the human’s obvious annoyance.

The human growled as they rolled away from Sans’ next attack. They got to their feet and lunged at him. Thankfully, it was another miss.

“*you can’t understand how this feels,” he said, suddenly speaking more quietly than before. He paused a moment before continuing with his next barrage of attacks.

The look on his face had me concerned. He looked almost in pain, but he hadn’t been hit. What was wrong? _Something_ was, I could tell, but I couldn’t figure out what.

“SANS?” I heard myself ask worriedly. I tensed when the human leaped at him again, but let out a relieved breath when my brother got out of the way in time. “SANS?”

“*knowing that one day,” he continued sadly, “*without any warning…it’s all going to be reset.”

I felt a tightness in my chest at seeing the look of despair on his face. I had seen that look before…once, when he was asleep. When I’d asked him about it he said it was due to some kind of nightmare. Now I wasn’t so sure. How long had Sans been aware of these resets? He never mentioned them….or did he? What if he had and then one of them happened and I just didn’t remember it?

Sans sent out another wave of his strange but frightening animal skulls and the human fell back. I heard him curse under his breath and bend over, hands on his kneecaps. He looked winded. I reached out for him and the world shuddered, transporting him back to his starting pillar again. I clenched my fist.

It wasn’t fair. Sans shouldn’t have to be so alone. I knew about the resets now. I wanted to tell him…and I couldn’t. I couldn’t help him feel any less alone than he thought he was. He was fighting so hard in spite of how horrible everything must feel. He was still going…again and again. All alone. How could I not have realized just how strong and brave my brother was before today?

“*…died seven times in a row. hey, that’s good. Seven’s supposed to be a lucky number. who knows, maybe you’ll hit the jackpot…”

“GO, SANS!” I yelled in the hope that he could somehow feel my support. “I KNOW YOU CAN DO THIS!”

They fought again.

“*…died eight times in a row. that’s the number of fingers on a spider.”

“*…died seven times in a row. …nope, wait, that’s definitely nine, sorry. or was it ten?”

“*…died ten times in a row. hey, congrats! the big one-oh! let’s invite all your friends over for a big shindig. We can have pie, and hot dogs, and…hmmm…wait. something’s not right. you don’t have any friends.”

It was amazing. Sans, my brother, one of—if not the—weakest monsters in the Underground, had beaten the human ten times. It was absolutely astounding and I could not have been prouder. I cheered him on, standing beside him through it all…though I did wince in terror every time he head to jump out of the way of another slice of the human’s knife. He continued to impress me attack after attack…but I began to worry anew every time the human fell. And every time Sans sighed with a tired look on his face.

Each battle was getting longer and longer. The human was adapting, memorizing my brother’s attacks, and slowly but surely, they were gaining the upper hand. Sans had defeated them ten times, but how much longer could he keep this up? They couldn’t just keep fighting for eternity, could they?  Even with all his laziness Sans didn’t deserve _that_ hellish punishment. I wasn’t even entirely sure that the human did either…although I’m sure others might disagree.

The human slashed at Sans again and he dipped out of the way of the still-shining blade. I held my breath. That one had been close. If it had been just a few inches closer… I shuddered at the thought. I didn’t like this. I didn’t like seeing how close Sans was to death for so long. It was draining. I could only imagine how tired _he_ must be by this point.

“*look, i gave up trying to go back a long time ago,” he mumbled as he regained his footing and released another wave of attacks.

I blinked, watching mutely as the human roared and jumped at him again. This time Sans easily avoided them, but his eyes were still just as sad. No…sadder.

“*and getting to the surface doesn’t really appeal anymore, either.”

“SANS…BUT….I….” I stammered. I wasn’t entirely sure what to say to that. “YOU CAN’T MEAN…BUT…WE WANTED TO SEE THE STARS,” I said helplessly.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I hadn’t realized Sans had been feeling so…sad. I had let him down. I had let him down not just as a brother, but as a friend, as the Great skeleton I was supposed to be. I should have done better. But no…I had failed the one person that mattered most, hadn’t I? I had failed Sans.

The human attacked. Sans teleported.

“*cause even if we do…we’ll just end up right back here, without any memory of it, right?”

Sans’ sockets were dark. Mine probably were too.

What did he mean by that? I…I didn’t like how that sounded. I didn’t like anything about it. I really hoped he wasn’t implying what I thought he was implying, but I couldn’t be sure.

The human came again, and Sans quickly jumped away.

“*to be blunt…it makes it kind of hard to give it my all.”

He attacked, they dodged. They attacked, he dodged.

“*…or is that just a poor excuse for being lazy…? hell if i know.”

At some point I had fallen back to my knees, but I wasn’t sure when that had happened. I sat and watched them continue on. _That_ was why Sans was so lazy? Because he felt nothing he did mattered? How could I be so blind to my own brother’s suffering? I heard myself sniffle as I watched him try so hard to press forward. Every day I badgered him about putting in more effort, not to laze about. Now I felt incredibly guilty. I should have asked how he was feeling instead…see if there was anything I could do to help him. But I hadn’t. And I wasn’t helping him very much now, either. He couldn’t hear any of my cheers, I couldn’t touch him. I couldn’t do anything. Nothing I did mattered…and that was exactly how Sans felt all the time.

“SANS, I’M SO SORRY,” I cried as I watched his ferocious familiars spew even more magic at his attacker. “I’M SORRY I…CALLED YOU LAZY. I’M SORRY I WASN’T A BETTER BROTHER TO YOU. I’M SORRY….I….YOU’RE NOT ALONE, SANS. I’M HERE….Y-YOU’LL NEVER BE ALONE. I PROMISE.”

Attack, dodge. Attack, dodge.

“*all i know is…seeing what comes next…i can’t afford not to care anymore.”

In spite of everything, Sans was still fighting. He had _come here_ knowing this might happen. He knew the human was responsible for the resets, and I finally realized that he had probably known this exact scenario would play out because of it. He felt nothing he did mattered, yet he had Shown Up to Fight.

I forced myself to my feet and I wiped my eyes on my glove. I couldn’t just lay there in a heap and cry in a ball of snot and tears! Sans sure wasn’t. Even if I couldn’t do a damn thing I needed to stay strong. For Sans. So he wouldn’t be alone.

My brother sent attack after attack at the murderous child. Bones, blasting skulls, blue magic. The human kept coming, kept dodging. They were determined to kill my brother and they were growing angrier and more frustrated by the minute.

“KEEP GOING, SANS!”

I could see him slowing weakening. I clenched my teeth in response to the horrible stress. He had to make it again. He just had to.

The human leapt over the last few bones that went flying toward them. They kicked off from the ground and aimed straight at Sans. He gasped, caught off-guard, and tried to send another spray of bones out as a shield. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. Sans still hadn’t phased away to teleport; there wouldn’t be time.

“NO!” I screamed as I jumped in front of my brother to shield him from the human’s assault. I held out my hand in an instinctual effort to protect him.

The human’s eyes widened as Sans’ few sparse bones suddenly grew larger, stronger, and focused on them as a focal point. They were yanked backward, pinned to the floor, and they lay still. I stared at the unmoving human slack-jawed. I could hear Sans’ ragged breath behind me.

“*wh-what…?”

“WH-WHAT?” I echoed as I stared down at my hand in disbelief.

The world shuddered around me a moment later, but I stood perfectly still, continuing to stare at my hand. What had just happened? I looked up as the human approached with bared teeth. I looked down at my hand again, then back up at the human as Sans took his place just to my left. I began to grin. I _could_ help my brother, as it turned out. We could do this!

Sans and the human stared each other down.

“*let’s just get to the point.”


	8. Endless Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Draft 1 - 31.3.17

 

The battle began all over again and I readied myself for it.

“I DON’T CARE HOW MANY TIMES THINGS ARE RESET,” I shouted triumphantly.“ I’M NOT LEAVING YOUR SIDE, BROTHER! WE’RE GOING TO FIND A WAY TO BEAT THEM ONCE AND FOR ALL.” I held out my hand and aimed my own attacks into his.

Sans seemed to have a renewed energy with his attacks this time around. I could swear he was genuinely smiling now and again. I threw my attacks into his. Their magics mingled together perfectly. His bones and feral skull familiars all strengthened, grew, and every bit of their combined strength flew straight at the human trying to reach my brother. The human didn’t stand a chance.

They didn’t fare much better during the next fight either, nor the next. They were furious now but, more importantly, their will seemed to be weakening. Sans and I stood together, throwing all that we had at them. We defeated the human again. And again. I had never heard of monsters’ magics mixing so fluidly before. I actually hadn’t thought something like this was possible. Our energies blended together so easily that it was like each of our attacks had come from the same source. We were completely in sync and it felt wonderful. Neither of us were alone in his fight anymore.

And I could do something to protect my family.

Our battles lasted maybe an hour before the human had worked hard enough to make their way through my brother’s repetitive speeches. They knew Sans’ patterns of attack, yes, but they were having a much harder time trying to weave their way through them now that the Great Papyrus had joined the fight!

The human lashed out at my brother. He jumped back, phasing through me. I heard him sigh. It was a soft noise, one too quiet to carry across to the human’s ears, but for me it was concerning. I turned around and looked down at my brother. He was starting to look tired. I had been so wrapped up in trying to give his attacks greater strength that I had neglected to realize that he was still giving the fight his all as well, and he was nowhere near my level of strength.

“ARE YOU ALRIGHT, SA—?”

“*ugh…that being said…” he huffed, looking straight through me. “*you, uh, really like swinging that thing around, huh? … listen. I know you didn’t answer me before, but…somewhere in there. i can feel it. there’s a glimmer of a good person inside of you. the memory of someone who once wanted to do the right thing. Someone who, in another time, might have even been…a friend? c’mon, buddy. do you remember me?”

I blinked in surprise and looked between the two of them. Remember him? What was Sans talking about? I didn’t understand. I, too, knew that the human had—at least some time ago—been capable of doing good, turning things around, but my resolve on the matter had certainly wavered since then. Did Sans know something that I didn’t?

“*please,” he continued, “*if you’re listening…let’s forget all this, ok? Just lay down your weapon, and…well, my job will be a lot easier.”

Sans consciously allowed the static-like atmosphere of magic in the hall to weaken. I grabbed the sides of my skull in a panic.

“SANS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? I SPARED THEM AND LOOK AT ME! DON’T LET THEM CUT OFF YOUR HEAD, TOO!”

The human, to my surprise, wavered. They seemed to almost be at conflict with themselves. I stopped shouting at my poor brother and watched. I could have sworn that the child’s face…flickered? I wasn’t sure how else to describe it. For a second, a brief second, they looked like another person entirely. The same, yet…their eyes. Something in their eyes. Would they really show us mercy? After everything they had done, everyone they had turned to dust…could they change? I had assumed I had been wrong in placing my faith in the human’s ability to change their course. Had I been right all along?

“COME ON,” I whispered as I watched a strange series of twitches and expressions flutter across the child’s twisted face. “COME ON….MERCY…SHOW SANS MERCY…”

The human child’s grip on their knife tightened and they charged.

Sans jump-teleported away from the malicious attack. “*welp, it was worth a shot. Guess you like doing things the hard way, huh?” he asked with a shrug and a forced, tired smile.

I heard him take a deep breath and he teleported again. I blinked in surprise a moment before spotting him off to the side of what had become our battlefield. He threw an attack at the human. He teleported again, threw another. Teleported. Threw. The human shouted in surprise at the sudden rapid-fire of disjointed magic attacks flying at them from different directions. Always full of surprises, Sans had once again caught his attacker—and me—off-guard with his strategy and ability. Despite his waning energy, he was still impressing me.

“GO SANS!” I cheered happily, punching the air.

The human fell. I held my breath, but…nothing happened.

“ARE THEY...DID WE…?” I dared to grin. “DID WE WIN?”

Sans sighed and fell to the ground to rest as he watched the child’s still form. He huffed and puffed for a moment before giving a weak smile. “*ya give up this time?” he asked quietly. He reached up and pulled a corner of my scarf out of his jacket. “*i…i think we did it, pap—”

The world shifted around us again. My own smile faltered. The human had stayed dead that time longer than the others. I had thought they were defeated, too. I looked over at Sans as he walked out to face his foe for the countless time and I readied myself for the next round in our personal war. If the human was in charge of all this resetting and they were taking longer to do it, then maybe…maybe we were finally close to not having to worry about _any_ more repeated scenarios.

The fight progressed as normal. I fought all the harder, desperately trying to help my brother, make sure Sans would be protected once and for all. I had never imagined he—we—would last this long, but Sans had defeated the odds spectacularly and I was not about to let him down now. We had a chance. More than a chance. We could do this and we _would_ do it. The Underground would be safe and Sans would be alright.

After an eternity, the human leaped out of the way of the last of Sans’ sporadic surprise attacks. They rolled and tried to swipe at my brother, but he avoided their attempt easily. Sans had some renewed energy every time the world shuddered around us, but mentally I could tell he was waning faster and faster. Luckily, so was the human. Sans manifested and sent forward additional bones to dance about them. It was an excellent strategy: keep the human on its toes to avoid an ever-present obstacle. I fed my energy into Sans’ and the magical brawl continued.

“*sounds strange, but before all this i was secretly hoping we could be friends. i always thought the anomaly was doing this cause they were unhappy. And when they got what they wanted, they would stop all this.”

Friends…that would have been nice. That’s what I had foolishly assumed would happen when I confronted the human child myself. I had extended the hand of friendship happily, but they had slapped it away in the worst way possible. I had to admit, on some level it made me feel slightly better to know that Sans had once had a similar mindset. I didn’t feel quite so foolish about it…but I still didn’t feel exactly _good_ about it either, given everything that had happened.

The human lashed out again with a furious snarl. Sans dodged.

“*and maybe all they needed was…i dunno.” He shrugged. “*some good food, some bad laughs, some nice friends,” he said sadly before letting a new wave of blue magic wash over the fiendish child.

Attack, dodge. Attack, dodge.

“*but that’s ridiculous, right? yeah, you’re the type of person who won’t EVER be happy.”

I couldn’t tell if his voice sounded strained or if it was my imagination. My anxiety sprang back to the forefront again. I had to make sure we could endure this and come out the other side. I had to be my brother’s strength as his waned. I fed my magic further into his attacks.

“WE CAN DO THIS, SANS,” I encouraged determinedly,“ I BELIEVE IN YOU. MORE THAN ANYONE IN THE UNDERGROUND OR THE WORLD, SANS, I BELIEVE IN YOU.”

Sans and I attacked. The human avoided a good bit of it and tried to retaliate unsuccessfully.

“*you’ll keep consuming timelines over and over, until…well. hey. take it from me, kid. someday…you gotta learn when to QUIT,” my brother warned, his sockets as dark as his tone.

A new parade of feral skulls appeared to chase the human throughout the great hall. I heard Sans take a deep breath after teleporting away from the human for the _n_ th time. I didn’t like how it sounded. It wasn’t a normal breath. It was like he was taking in all the air that he could because it was the last breath he would ever get. My brother was preparing for something and I didn’t know what it was, didn’t know how to help. I stared at him in pathetic desperation, practically begging him to let me in on his plans so that I might help.

“*and that day’s TODAY.”

Sans released a new barrage of attacks, teleporting from one spot to another to keep the human guessing. I cheered to see so many of them find their target. He threw blue magic at them and, slashing through the air with his left hand, sent his attacker to and fro, disorienting them thoroughly before sending a new wave of bones to dance around them while he regained his own energy. The human tried to retaliate, but missed their target spectacularly.

 “*cause…y’ see…all this fighting is really tiring me out.”

I took a good look at my sibling and could immediately tell he wasn’t joking this time. He was sweating from all of the effort, doing everything he could to keep from outright panting. I started to wonder—worry—how much of his magic he had burned through in order to keep up his attacks, even with my help. He didn’t _know_ I was aiding him in his fight; he was giving every attack everything he had. And there was a limit to what a monster could exert…especially a monster like Sans. My bones rattled quietly.

Sans held his breath and attacked again. I threw my own magic into his, but I didn’t like the results. The human dipped and dove to avoid every one. Sans’ attacks were farther apart than they had been before…they looked smaller, too. I glanced down at my hands in a sudden realization. My magic was limited, too. The majority of Sans’ energy was renewed every time the world sputtered and restarted the fight…but I didn’t change with those shudders…my energy didn’t get restored. My ability to help my brother was beginning to dry up before my eyes.

 “NO,” I whispered to myself as the weight of such a realization hit me. “NO, NO, NO, NO…OH GOD…WH-WHAT DO I DO?” I pleaded to the air.

“*and,” Sans said, interrupting my panicked thoughts, “*if you keep pushing me…then i’ll be forced to use my _special attack_.”

“SPECIAL ATTACK?” I asked stupidly, my mind a bit fuzzy all of a sudden.

Sans didn’t have a special attack…did he? If anything, I would have thought his monstrously feral familiars were his special attack. He had amazed and dazzled me again and again over the course of this battle, but I found it hard to believe that my poor brother had enough energy and usable magic for something grander than what he had managed already. By Asgore I hoped he was getting ready to surprise me again. Just one more time.

I was so distracted that I barely realized that the two had exchanged their next round of attacks already. I tensed up, my eye sockets glued on my brother.

 “*yeah, my _special attack_. sound familiar? well, get ready. cause after the next move, i’m going to _use it_. so, if you don’t wanna see it, now would be a good time to die.”

I readied myself. I fed some of my remaining expendable magic into Sans’ bone attacks, but held back as much as I felt I could. I had to save it. I had to make sure we could defeat the human with Sans’ special attack once and for all. The human was taking longer and longer to come back after every defeat. We could do this. I could do this. _Sans_ could do this.

“*well,” he sighed after dodging another pathetic attempt from the human to murder him, “*here goes nothing…are you ready?” he asked, opening one eye with a mischievous grin on his face. “*survive THIS, and i’ll show you my _special attack_!”

With the gleam in his sockets turning to pitch, Sans gave a deep sigh, steadied his footing, and called forth as much magic as he could muster. I could feel it swirling around him as he unleashed it upon his enemy. To start, he threw out a new wave of blue magic, sending the evil child to the floor and leaving them to dodge the walls of bones they had come to expect. I spotted a tug at the edge of Sans’ smile, though, and watched as the human let out a cry of surprise when my brother’s attacks began to overlap. The usual patterns they had expected were suddenly gone and they found themselves hit with one bone after another.

“*here we go,” my brother whispered under his breath.

Before I could ask what was going on, Sans began teleporting down the giant hall, throwing attacks as he went, similar to what he had done earlier. To my amazement, though, this time he seemed to take the human right along with him. The murderous child yelped and gasped and did their best to dodge the attacks flying at them as they blinked in and out of existence. Sans kept them busy, kept them from orienting themselves properly in space before they were moved again, and sending bones flying at them all the while.

It was absolutely amazing. Again, my brother had proved himself an excellent strategist, far more than I had ever given him credit. I knew he loved puzzles as much as I did, but I never realized how talented he was. I had to admit to myself, as I watched him and the human endlessly duel, that it was a travesty that I only now was discovering just _how_ wonderful my dear brother really was. I should have known his talents, his grand capabilities, far better than I did…or, _had_ , before…this morning. I was not as great a brother as I should have been, it seemed. So, even if I had to use up all the magic I had left, or figure out a way to use up whatever it was that let me exist the way I was now, I was going to make up for my shortcomings. The Great Papyrus always did what was right, and there was nothing righter than being there for my beloved bother when he needed me most.

“ASOUNDING!” I cried with pride as Sans teleported the human again, this time in the middle of a mass of miniature animal skulls ready to strike.

They began to fire, releasing their masses of energy and spending themselves entirely as the human dashed about in an attempt to flee their assault. They tripped, fell…and they didn’t get up. The skulls finished their attack and faded away.

Sans leaned back against a pillar before slowly sliding to sit down on the floor. He pulled a bit of my scarf out from his hoodie and hugged it to his cheekbone. He sniffled and began to weep softly while he stared at the unmoving human.

“*p-papyrus,” he whimpered quietly. “*i—i think it’s over. it’s finally over. oh god it’s finally over,” he cried, rubbing the red fabric across his smooth bone. “*i’m sorry, papyrus. i should have done this f-from the start. i…you deserve justice and….damn, how is this justice? everyone is dust! y-you’re d-d…” He shook his head and wiped the rim of his eye socket and hung his head.

“SANS, YOU WERE AMAZING,” I said quietly, trying to reassure him as I sat down beside my brother. “I AM SO PROUD OF YOU. EVERYONE IN THE UNDERGROUND WILL BE PROUD OF YOU. YOU’VE SAVED EVERYONE, SANS. YOU DID WHAT NO ONE ELSE COULD. YOU…” I sighed. “I ALWAYS CALLED MYSELF THE GREAT PAPYRUS. I SHOULD HAVE BEEN CALLING _YOU_ THE MAGNIFICENT SANS.” I smiled, trying vainly to reach out for his hand, to let him know how much I loved him, how proud I was of all he had accomplished, not only now but throughout his life. He made a small noise that made me frown and I tried to get a better look at his face. “ARE YOU ASLEEP?”

Sans gave a small snore.

I sat back and chuckled softly to myself. “THIS NAP…I THINK YOU’VE EARNED, BROTHER.”

I sighed, slowly relaxing in the sudden quiet of the great hall. It was nice to not have to worry so much. I hadn’t realized how tense I had become over the course of this horrible day. I closed my eyes, enjoying the sound of Sans’s small snores. He really _had_ earned a rest after everything he had done. My brother was a hero, a genuine hero. Sans’ snoring stopped for a moment and I looked over to see if he was awake…but he was gone. I blinked in shock, but just before I was about to ask where he had gone, I caught sight of him out of the corner of my vision.

He was walking out from behind a pillar. Across from him, the human approached.

“*let’s just get to the point.”


	9. The Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Draft 1 - 4.4.17  
> \----------
> 
> I can't decide if I 100% like how the ending came out, but I can't figure out how to alter it to my satisfaction. If I do managed to find a self-compromise, I'll update this with a renewed draft.

“N-NO. NOT AGAIN,” I whispered in disbelief.

The feral skulls blasted out their energy, the human slashed with their awful weapon, Sans threw bones...

No. It was supposed to be over, finally over. _This_ was supposed to be over! Sans had won! Sans had defeated them! The human…the human was supposed to be gone now. I buried my face in my hands and did my best to block out the sounds of the deadly fight raging around me. This couldn’t be happening. Sans had _won_! A cluster of bones flew through my head. It almost tickled. I looked up with tear-strew cheekbones to see the pair battle on.

“*and if you keep pushing me…then i’ll be forced to use my _special attack_.”

His special attack? Had I been sitting here shaking and fretting for that long? What was I _doing_? My brother needed me and I was here wallowing in my pity! I jumped to my feet and hurried to Sans’ side, feeding what magic I had left into his attacks with all my strength. My own attacks were getting weaker, and I could tell that the human was noticing the difference. They had already memorized most of my brother’s attack patterns, and without my help they were dodging them far more easily than they had been. This was not good.

“*yeah, my _special attack_. sound familiar? well, get ready. cause after the next move, i’m going to _use it_. so, if you don’t wanna see it, now would be a good time to die.”

I think the human smirked. I pushed out more energy, but it wasn’t working like before. I looked down at my hands and gasped. I could see the floor. I, well, I could see my hands, too, but…I could see the hall floor underneath them as well. I could see _through_ myself! I looked down at my battle body to behold more of the same. I…must have given up too much of my magic. My body—whatever kind of body I had—was barely holding itself together. But I had to help. This time the human would stay dead. This time we could win, I knew it. I tried to help Sans’ next attack, but felt ill instead. The bones were unaffected by my efforts, but I didn’t feel well.

I hadn’t felt tired or hungry or…much of anything since that morning, but I now felt queasy and weak all of a sudden.

“*well, here goes nothing…are you ready? survive THIS, and i’ll show you my _special attack_!”

Sans’ marvelous assault began again. He teleported, the human dragged along with him. Bones flew, the human twisted and turned in an attempt to avoid as many as possible. The ring of skulls once more formed around the human…but this time they were ready. As the conjured creatures parted their mandibles one by one the human took off running in an attempt to keep one step ahead of the deadly blasts. I tried to feed my own energy into theirs, desperate to help, desperate to keep my brother safe, but to no avail. I had nothing left to give. I was helpless once again, a useless bystander. I sunk to my knees, feeling sick and weak.

The human ran, tumbled, anything to avoid the energy blasts. I could see the concentration and desperation on Sans’ exhausted face. His attacks were amazing, but the human was somehow keeping just a step ahead of them. He looked worried. I was terrified. The fiendish child gave an audible cheer as they finally managed to clear the last of the blasts. Their celebration was short lived, however, when my brother immediately raised a determined hand as his eye flickered wildly with blue and yellow magic. That magic wrapped around its target and took hold immediately.

Sans whipped his dominant arm one way, then another. The child followed through the air as the blue magic threw them across the hall again and again. They looked like a limp doll flying through the as they were. I watched from Sans’ side, my entire form tense with anticipation.

“YOU CAN DO IT. JUST A LITTLE MORE, SANS…JUST A LITTLE MORE.”

The human was whipped about sporadically, a near blur, for what felt like ages. I could hear Sans breathing heavily beside me. His arm moved more slowly as sweat slid down his face, and the human began to slow as well. I feared my poor brother had reached his limit, but his attacker was still alive. I turned to him with shaking hands as I struggled to my feet.

“SANS, C-COME ON. OH PLEASE… SANS, HANG ON. Y-YOU STILL HAVE YOUR SPECIAL ATTACK, RIGHT? JUST HOLD ON. JUST A LITTLE MORE.”

The human dropped to the floor. I hoped that they would stay there, but they quickly got to their feet with a wicked grin on their face that sent a horrible chill up my spine. This was not good. This was not good and I couldn’t do anything to help!

“SANS! SANS, RUN! JUST RUN! TELEPORT AWAY, PLEASE! YOU STILL HAVE TIME. PLEASE, **GO**!” I screamed at him.

He didn’t notice my cries. He huffed and puffed as he tucked his hand back into his hoodie pocket. He looked terrible and being so close I could see he was shaking from all the effort. What was he doing? Why was he staying? I tried to keep the tears at bay, but what else was there for me to do now other than cry?

“*all right,” Sans heaved, trying to keep his voice steady as the human picked up the weapon they had dropped during his last attack, “*that’s it.” He shrugged weakly. “*it’s time for my _special attack_. are you ready? here goes nothing,” he said, closing his eyes as he seemed to try and center himself.

Neither of them moved.

The pair simply watched one another, each one apparently expecting the other to make the first move. I whispered desperately to my brother to teleport away, to flee while there was still time, but he didn’t hear a word.

After what felt like ages, Sans gave a light chuckle and finally spoke again. “*yep. That’s right,” he said with a strange smile as my shoulders slowly fell in disbelief. “*it’s literally nothing,” he continued with a wink. “*and it’s not gonna be anything, either. heh heh heh… ya get it? i know i can’t beat you. one of your turns…you’re just gonna kill me. so, uh. i’ve decided…it’s not gonna BE your turn. ever. i’m just gonna keep having MY turn until you give up.” The light in his sockets faded away. “*even if it means we have to stand here until the end of time. capiche?”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Sans had known it would come down to this all along. He had never faced the human to win, only to delay. He was sacrificing himself.

“SANS, N-NO…I…” I looked around desperately, hoping something in the hall would give me some sudden idea that could fix everything. “KING ASGORE MUST HAVE REACHED THE SOULS, RIGHT? HE MUST BE READY BY NOW. I-I’M SURE YOU COULD…RUN…IF…I…I…”

What could I say? Even if he could hear me, my brother had clearly made up his mind before this long, exhaustive battle had even begun. Not everyone would be so brave, I realized. Would _I_ have confronted the human this morning if I had known…? I was ashamed to find that I wasn’t sure I would. I would like to think I _would_ have done the same, but…I couldn’t be sure. Sans had known what he was walking into from the start. My brother was amazing. Amazing didn’t even begin to describe how admirable he was and how proud I was of him, but it would have to do for now since my vocabulary couldn’t come up with something worthy enough of him on such short notice.

“SANS,” I heard myself utter sadly. “HOW CAN I HELP YOU IF YOU’RE DETERMINED TO…?”

I looked between my brother’s exhausted face and that of the furious-looking human. Sans’ magic filled the hall—everything he could spare, I expect—and held the human just barely at bay. He was manipulating the very energy of the room to make sure the horrible child wouldn’t be able to get close enough for a proper attack. He was practically bending the rules of nature itself through a loophole few realized even existed. That was my brother for you, I supposed; willing to do anything to get out of work or following the rules.

I couldn’t help but smile at that. Sans may be lazy, but he was brilliant. And he was a true hero. I’m sure even Undyne would be proud of what he had accomplished today. If…if she were still alive, anyway.

The human tried to make their way forward, only to find themselves teleported backward the few feet they had just traveled. They tried again, but got the same results. I looked over at Sans, seeing a flicker in his left eye when the human angrily tried to get at him a third time.

“NYEH HEH HEH!”

Sans was still fighting, even if it was with minimal effort. It was a good strategy, and after everything I had seen from my brother today, I would expect no less. I found myself daring to believe, hope, that maybe he would be able to recover enough energy through this tactic to muster proper attacks again. Then we could defeat the human for sure!

“*you’ll get bored here,” he warned the human in a low voice. “*if you haven’t gotten bored already, i mean. and then, you’ll finally quit.”

“YOU’RE THE BRAVEST MONSTER I’VE EVER KNOW, SANS,” I remarked quietly as I stood by him and watched the human flounder.

They would try to move, Sans’ eye would flicker, and they would end up right back where they started. They would try again, and again, and again. If nothing else, the child was certainly persistent. Sans looked exhausted, but refused to give up. He stood his ground and quietly ignored all of the human’s shouts and growls of frustration as time went on.

“*i know your type. you’re, uh, very determined, aren’t you? you’ll never give up, even if there’s, uh…absolutely NO benefit to persevering whatsoever. if i can make that clear. no matter what, you’ll just keep going. not out of any desire for good or evil…but just because you think you can. and because you ‘can’… you ‘have to.’”

I swallowed nervously as I watched the scene play out. I felt horrible. I wished I could take my brother’s place in all this. He more than deserved a rest, and even more than that he deserved to be safe...somewhere that wasn’t here. Sitting on the sidelines like this was agony, but I couldn’t do anything _but_ watch. And wait. And hope.

The human tried again. And again. And again.

“*but now, you’ve reached the end. there is nothing left for you now. so, uh, in my personal opinion…the most ‘determined’ thing you can do here? is to, uh, completely give up. and…” Sans gave a deep yawn as he sent the human backward again. “*do literally anything else.”

But the human stayed, and they tried again.

This went on for a very long time. It was hard to tell exactly how long, but it was certainly over an hour. Easily. Maybe two? I realized that I had no idea what time it actually was anymore. With all of the resetting that had happened, I was sure that we had been here for half a day at the very _least_ but as to what time a clock would read I had no idea anymore. All I knew was that Sans’ shoulders were slowly but surely falling and his head was slowly, steadily nodding forward. Even the human was finally beginning to look tired. That was good. Maybe they would finally stop.

To my surprise, stop they did. They sighed, looking frustrated but no longer angry. They glared at my brother with hate-filled eyes that made me shudder. After a time they started walking, though slowly, toward my brother. I frowned, troubled.

“WHAT ARE THEY…? OH NO.”

Sans’ eye sockets were half closed and he was wavering on his feet. Having reached his limit long ago, my poor brother was losing his battle with his own body to stay conscious.

“SANS! SANS, YOU NEED TO STAY AWAKE! THEY’RE—”

Sans’ head suddenly snapped up, eye flickering to send the human back again. Whew. That was a close one.

Time passed again.

The human stayed still, staring, biding their time. I could hear my bones rattling from sheer nerves. This was dangerous. This was bad. I couldn’t tell which was worse—the fighting, or this waiting for the end. Sans’ head bobbed again. I jumped, holding my breath in instantaneous terror. The human raced forward, Sans’ eye socket flickered, and we were back where we started again. My nerves couldn’t take this.

But they had to…at least another handful of times. I shouted at Sans multiple times to make sure he would wake up in time I was unsure if I had any influence over anything or if Sans was fighting by himself still…again…either way this was terrible.

Sans’ head slowly drooped. The human didn’t move; they just stared. Sans’ shoulders relaxed further. I could swear the human was smiling, but it was hard to tell anymore with their frightening mouth. Sans wobbled a bit on his feet and I could hear a slight change in his breathing…more relaxed, deeper, slower.

“NO! NO NO NO NO NO! SANS! SANS, YOU NEED TO WAKE UP! OH MY GOD HOW ARE YOU EVEN ABLE TO SLEEP STANDING UP? SANS WAKE **UP**! OH, PLEASE, PLEASE…” I looked over at the human and gasped in horror as I watched them inch closer, closer, closer still. “ **SANS!** ” I screamed desperately, my face mere inches from his. “ **WAKE UP WAKE UP! BROTHER, HE’S GOING TO—!** ”

The human leaped, weapon held high. Sans’ eye sockets flew open. He dodged to the side and gave an amused shrug as he did.

“*heh. didja really think you would be—”

Everything began to move in slow motion. The human slashed with a vengeance, the blade slicing down through my brother’s shirt. I watched in horror as Sans’ expression shifted to one of shock, then slowly into terror. The knife clanged against each rib as it followed its downward arch. The sound seemed to echo off the walls. Or maybe the echoes were from my own screams. I wasn’t sure. I hadn’t even realized I _was_ screaming until Sans stumbled backward and fell to the floor, a look of disbelief still on his face.

“SANS! SANS! OH GOD, NO! OH GOD, YOUR HP…I…N-N…”

I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to do. I tried to grab my brother where he sat, tried to get him back up. Maybe if I could somehow manage that things would be okay. My arms flew through him again and again. I felt the tears streaming down my face as my mind raced to try and figure a way out of this, a way to heal him, a way to set the world back again, anything…

“NO,” I whined from where I sat on my knees, shaking and rattling and unable to do anything.

I looked up at the human child. They stood there with their confident, determined, disgusting-looking smile. They had triumphed. They had dealt a fatal blow to my beloved brother, and they were satisfied. I looked back at Sans, still trying to place a hand on his shoulder, cover his wound, something…anything. He coughed lightly as he placed his own hand over the gash in his shirt and I was dismayed to see the blood that tricked down from his mouth. His breathing suddenly sounded labored.

“OH GOD, OH GOD,” I heard myself repeating over and over again. “NO…”

“*…” Sans barely glanced up at the human before his sockets focused back on the floor in front of him. “*…so…guess that’s it, huh? …” He tried to swallow, but ended up coughing again. He closed his sockets. “*just…don’t say i didn’t warn you.”

With a pained grunt, Sans pitched forward and shakily stood back up. I sat where I was in complete astonishment. Sans was dying, that much was obvious. I was amazed that he was still alive at all, much less that he was able to find the strength to stand up at all. I felt my jaw quivering as I watched him, my big brother. My hero.

He stood there for a moment to catch his breath. “*welp,” he said after what felt like an eternity, “*i’m going to grillby’s.”

Clinging to his old go-to answer for life’s problems, he gave the human one final shrug, blood dripping from between his fingers and spattering onto the hall tiles. He sighed, clutching his chest as he slowly began to shamble back toward the entrance, carefully placing one foot in front of the other. The human let him go; they clearly didn’t care anymore. The child was already turning away to head down the dark corridor ahead. They weren’t interested in watching my brother, see him die. They just wanted to move onto their next target, their _reward_ for finally defeating my magnificent Sans.

“SANS?” I ventured as I slowly got to my own feet.

I stared at his back, watching my only brother stagger slowly down the hall, dripping blood with every step. I slowly, quietly, trailed behind him nervously. I wasn’t sure if the edges of his being looked fuzzy or if it was the tears in my eyes. Sans had such low HP, but he was still standing. He was even _walking_. Maybe he would be alright. Maybe he wasn’t as weak as we had both worried all these years. He should be dead already, but he wasn’t. That means there was hope, right? Maybe…maybe…?

“*papyrus, do you want anything?”

I froze. I could see a small bit of red peeking out from Sans’ collar as he spoke. I felt a lump in what would have been my throat if I actually had one. I tried to reply, but only a squeak escaped my jaw. He shuffled only a few inches more before he stumbled.

“SANS!” I cried, instinctively rushing to his side to help.

I desperately grabbed for my brother, trying to catch him. A shower of fine powder fluttered toward the hall floor. A dusty red scarf and a blue hooded jacket fell down in a heap, causing the dust to swirl around them in the air before quietly settling. I held my breath in wonder as I watched Sans’ remnants fall. Yet I held my brother in my arms.

I trembled as I held Sans, the two of us frozen in place, as though time had stopped mid-fall. I couldn’t breathe. All I could do was stand there. After a moment I gathered enough of my wits together to carefully move his limp body off to the side of the hall, by one of the massive pillars. I slowly sunk to the floor, cradling my brother against me. I could finally touch him. I could hold him. I whimpered and hugged his unconscious form to my chest. He was so light. Why did my grand brother look so small in my arms? I shut my eyes tightly as I tried to process the paradoxical mix of emotions that were rushing through me. Slowly, I opened my sockets again, expecting to be holding nothing but air. Sans was still there. Even more, I realized, my transparent arms began to look—bit by bit—more solid again. Why, I wasn’t sure, but that was secondary to the most important matter…

Sans’ eye sockets fluttered lightly before opening. He blinked, squinting up at me. At first there was no recollection anywhere on his face but it took only a moment for his sockets to go wide in disbelief. I couldn’t help but smile. He could see me. He could finally see me.

“*p-papyrus?” he asked hesitantly, studying my face. “*is it…really you?”

“IN THE FLESH! OR…BONE…OR…MAGIC, At THE VERY LEAST.”

“*oh god. papyrus!” he cried, immediately throwing his arms around me and squeezing tightly. “*i thought i’d never see you again! i missed you so much,” he sobbed.

I pulled Sans further into the hug, so glad to be properly back with my brother again. “I NEVER LEFT SANS. I WAS RIGHT HERE. I’M HERE. I’LL ALWAYS BE HERE.”

Sans continued to cry, tugging at my scarf and burying his face in it, maybe for reassurance that this wasn’t all some teasingly cruel dream. I squeezed him close to me. He muttered something into my chest plate but I couldn’t understand it. It didn’t matter what Sans said. He didn’t need to say _anything_. I knew what he meant. We sat that way together for a while. It was such a relief to have my brother again. Be able to see him, touch him, speak with him, and he with me…and all at once, no less. We were finally together again, _really_ together, and we weren’t about to let the other slip through our fingers.

“YOU WERE TRULY AMAZING, SANS,” I whispered.

“*what?”

“THE HUMAN. EVERYTHING. YOU DID SO MUCH FOR EVERYONE. I’M SO PROUD OF YOU, SANS. YOU’RE A HERO.”

“*hero sandwich, maybe. i don’t know if i made too much a difference, to be honest.”

“I THINK A KID FROM SNOWDIN WOULD ARGUE AGAINST THAT,” I pointed out. “AND EVERYONE IN THE LAB WHO WAS WATCHING. YOU CAN BE VERY INSPIRATIONAL, SANS…WHEN YOU’RE CONCIOUS.”

My brother chuckled and sniffled, wiping his cheek. “*y-you really were there, weren’t cha?”

“ALWAYS, BROTHER.”

We hugged anew. While I would have been delighted to know Sans was free to live a long, full life…having my family back overshadowed any and all previous worried I had had before now. A brief breeze and the familiar sound of distant thunder interrupted our happy reunion. I looked up and smiled. I nudged my brother gently.

“SANS,” I whispered. “SANS…LOOK.”

Sans reluctantly pulled away, though the move was slight, and looked up in awe at the marvelous white tunnel that had somehow appeared inside the hall. He studied it for a moment before a look of amazement washed over him. He gestured toward the tunnel.

“*is that…?”

I looked up at the familiar face smiling back at us and nodded. “IT IS,” I confirmed confidently. “I HAD TO TURN THEM AWAY LAST TIME. I…I COULDN’T LEAVE YOU.”

Sans stared at me. “*you…what, really?”

“TELL ME YOU WOULDN’T HAVE DONE THE SAME, BROTHER.”

Sans stared for a moment, then shrugged and nodded his head sheepishly.

“NYEH HEH HEH! I KNEW IT!” I teased. “SO, WHAT DO YOU SAY WE GO HOME?”

“*no complaints here,” Sans chimed happily, smiling brightly for the first in a long time.

I stood, cradling Sans against me like he used to do for me when we were young. He didn’t make any attempts at protest. He happily sat in my arms with his hands securely around my shoulders. After the horrible day that we had both endured, I don’t think either of us were too keen on being separated again any time soon. Sans looked over his shoulder as I—finally—walked toward the swirling vortex of white and silvery light.

“*so...are we gonna call this the best day of our _afterlife_ or what?” Sans asked.

“DON’T START,” I scolded, though I was unable to hide my obvious smile, “OR THIS IS GOING TO FEEL LIKE ETERNITY.”

Sans gave me a sneaky, satisfied grin. “*did you just—?”

I didn’t dignify him with an answer, but my grin stayed firmly planted on my face. Eternity with my loving family didn’t sound so bad, actually, terrible jokes and all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is actually the first writing project in my life that I've actually managed to finish...which is sad, considering I've written nonsense on and off for the last 15 years or so! But hey, I got here! If I did it once I can do it again!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the fic. Please leave a comment and let me know what you liked, didn't like, what you had for dinner last night, etc. Knowing people actually read things I might turn out is an amazing motivator to do more! 
> 
> Thanks so much for reading--you're wonderful!


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